#mc not really being opposed to either one of them were they to seriously try and win her over but watching it all happen in front of her

[bitchkay]

I need a love triangle story with Toa and Guy with MC in the middle but its actually a rivals to lovers where they fall in love instead with MC as a mediator and they have a big fight, throwing punches, headmasters rules be damned, where they actually rough each other up until someone pulls them apart from eachother and they end up having a talk (against their will) and realize MC really isn't their goal is it?

"Well, if you hate me that much, then fuck off! Let me be someone else’s problem!"

"I don’t want you being someone else’s problem is the fucking problem here! I want--! ..."

"..."

"..."

"You don't actually hate eachother... do you?"

[acey-wacey]

Hi hi! Could I order a scenario of how Jade and Floyd would react to MC hiding behind them because they’re being chased by bullies?? Maybe grabbing onto the tweels (о´∀`о)

I like to think they’d be surprised of someone hiding BEHIND them instead of FROM them lol..

I'm a sucker for platonic tweels! This is my lifeline rn!!

...

Shrimpy Protection Agency

Three of the more troublesome NRC seniors decided that they weren't too pleased with all the attention you were getting, having been in Twisted Wonderland for only a few months.

The students decided to corner you in the hallway, much to your surprise and demand that you apologize for the trouble you've stirred up.

When you refused, they accused you of being disrespectful and threatened to hurt you if you didn't start respecting your upperclassmen.

Through your fear, you managed to slip between the students and make a break for it.

You knew they were older, stronger, and faster than you so you wouldn't be able to outrun them.

Your only hope was to hide.

You frantically searched for a place to hide as you sprinted into the courtyard.

You were hoping someone would be there to stop the upperclassmen from pummeling you but it was empty.

No, not empty.

On the very far side of the courtyard, hidden in the shadows, the Leech twins stood, both looking mildly bored.

"Jade! Floyd!"

They both perked up upon hearing your voice.

What was excitement to see you, quickly became confusion as you ran to them and wrapped your arms around Floyd's torso from the back, shielding yourself from your pursuers.

Jade almost never showed his emotions on his face which made it all the more terrifying when his expression darkened as the bullies followed you to the courtyard.

All three of them stopped in their tracks when they saw the intimidating look on Jade's face, worsened by the wide-eyed and manic Floyd.

It wasn't usual to see either of them, especially Jade, without their signature customer service smile on, even when threatening someone, but when it came to you, there wasn't any pleasantry.

They didn't even try to pretend like your bullies weren't in danger.

"I will give you 5 seconds of silence before I begin my pursuit," whispered Jade, though the attackers heard him loud and clear in the echoey silence of the courtyard.

The one that appeared to be the leader scoffed and nervously chuckled.

"You're just a second-year. I'm not afraid of you. And I sure as he11 wouldn't need a headstart."

"Oh, you misunderstand," Floyd laughed, his eyes still crazed. "Five seconds wouldn't help you for a headstart. We're giving you a chance to pray to every God who'll bother to listen to a pathetic bottom-feeder like you."

"You're monsters!" one of the goons screeched after a few seconds of listening to their panicked breathing. Both twins just smiled in the same unsettling form.

"That bridge was burned a lot time ago, my friend," Jade chuckled menacingly before he went back to staring into the bullies' souls. "5."

"Listen, dude! We were just messing around!"

"4."

"Okay, you're seriously starting to freak me out!"

"Better get on that praying then. 3."

"I'm gonna... tell the headmaster!"

"Oh, I'm so scared. 2."

"Guys, let's get out of here!"

"That little shrimp isn't worth this."

"Only I get to call them that!" Floyd screamed after the goons as they stumbled over themselves to get away.

You could hear the bullies leaving but you still slayed firmly attached to Floyd.

"I'm a touch offended you didn't latch into me that way. Do you trust Floyd more than me?"

You looked up to see Jade smirking at you with his usual calm composure, much opposed to his "predator mode".

"I'm sorry," you sniffled, though you all knew you didn't really mean it. "Next time, I'll hide behind you instead."

"Oh, no, no, no, Shrimpy," Floyd glared at you. You could tell it wasn't directed at you specifically but it was still intimidating. "There's not going to be a next time."

"At least we can agree on that note, brother dearest," Jade mused, brushing a hair behind your ear. "We'll make sure no one will ever mess with you again, Y/N."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, that's a secret," Jade put a finger to his lips and you could see the angry fire behind his eyes.

"You can hug me anytime you want though, Shrimpy!" Floyd chimed in cheerily. You laughed and leaned into his chest.

"Thank you so much. I don't know what I would've done with out you," you sighed and grabbed Jade's hand, tugging him into a group hug. "I love you. Both of you."

Jade wasn't usually particularly affection and Floyd didn't often practice restraint but both of them cared enough about you to just smother you in a brotherly hug, as long as it will make you happy.

Jade and Floyd made eye contact over your shoulder, making a silent agreement to break every bone in your bullies' bodies and make it look like an accident.

[astaroth1357]

Demon Brothers Meeting the MC’s Family

I mean, if they have any family at all, what could they even tell them anyway? “Sorry Mom, still in Hell so I won’t make Thanksgiving but I’m doing great though!” This is another long one folks, but I lowkey kind of love it a whole lot. Sooo fun to write. One of my favorite posts so far.

Lucifer

Thinks it's a little weird that they’re so adamant to introduce their family to a literal demon but also kinda gets it. Family is the most important thing to him too.

Is very focused on making a good first impression, from image to attitude. Their approval isn’t going to do jack to stop him from being with the MC but he’d still take pride in being able to charm them for a night. Besides, if the MC cares then so does he.

Has more experience with the human world than the others so he’d know a lot of the do’s and don'ts already. They won’t need to worry about him making some kind of slip up.

Would love the irony if the MC’s family is religious at all. Christian/Jewish especially. May or may not play along with their little rituals but is going to make a lot of thinly veiled, passive-aggressive comments towards his "old man."

Would be most comfortable in a setting where there’s a lot of intellectual discussion or debate. He loves to steer a conversation down towards politics or other controversial things to get a rise out of people. The MC may need to reign him in if that’s a big no-go zone.

Isn’t really going to get along with any younger siblings the MC might have. Either he’s too stiff or too scary. If they’re looking for a playmate, look somewhere else.

Also not going to be particularly fond of any pets they have one way or another. Though he may take a shine to pitbulls or rottweilers because they remind him of Cerberus.

Mammon

You sure about this, MC? Him? Really? Are you really sure? He’s going to think they're crazy but he’s not going to refuse.

Will be so freaking excited if they’re from a well-to-do or, dare say, rich family. So much stuff to steal admire. Yeah, yeah no stealing from the MC’s family, he gets it... He’ll really try his best but it might be good to keep an eye on him.

Surprisingly though, he’s not going to be disgusted if they’re from a poor family either because the dude gets it. Money is hard to come by and things can be tough. He might even… pay... for some stuff while he’s there... You know, if he can. Don’t make a big deal out of it… He's got an image to keep.

He’ll try his best to not come off like a total scumbag and it may actually work. He’s rough around the edges but there’s plenty of chances for his better side to shine through as long as he stays on good behavior. 

They will have to be sure that he doesn’t get to talking too much because his dumbass will let it slip that he’s a demon. 

Mammon may not love kids but kids love him and any younger siblings are going to do the same. Even if he calls them little gremlins, he’ll let himself get roped into whatever game they’re playing and make it a lot of fun in the process.

Bring on the pets! He’s more of a dog person but he’ll play with a cat too. He may not be as animal-obsessed as Satan but he loves a good furry companion every once in a while.

Leviathan 

NOOOOO and you can’t make him!!! A social event involving strangers where he has to make a good impression?? Fuck no, that sounds like actual hell and he doesn’t want anything to do with it!

… But he also can’t just let the MC go back to the human world alone because what if they meet someone better than him and get reminded that they’re with a good-for-nothing otaku…? Okay he's going. But he’s going to pout about it.

His first impression is going to make him come off like a nervous wreck no matter what. There’s really no polishing this bundle of anxiety. The best he can hope for is to ride this thing out until it's done.

Will be pretty quiet and cling to the MC like a life-raft the entire night. Refuses to be left alone with their family in any capacity, he could not handle the awkward silence. If they’re going to the bathroom, then he’s going too damnit.

If they have a pretty nerdy family then he might be a bit more comfortable. Especially if any of their siblings/parents game or are into anime. Steering conversation more towards his comfort zones will help him out a lot...

If they have little siblings who play a lot of video games then he is going to be the coolest person in the world. Period. He knows all the best strategies to practically any game out there, demonic or human. He may even loosen up a little bit and start smiling if he gets to wow an audience with his gaming prowess!

Like Lucifer he’s not going to be all that impressed with pets either way. He’ll think fish are pretty neat and probably even reptiles too but don’t expect him to get too cuddly with a dog or anything.

Satan

Doesn’t hate the idea but agrees that his name is going to have to change if they’re really serious about it. “Hey everybody this is my boyfriend, Satan!” is only going to be appealing to very niche circles...

Like Lucifer, he's going to be mindful of how he comes across. He'd rather the MC's family likes him than didn't, even if it's irrelevant, so expect him to be very polite and sociable. Damn near the perfect gentleman.

… Until something/someone sets off his temper. He may not go full Wrath on the situation but it's probably best to get him out of the room real quick so he can cool down.

Would love if the MC comes from an super educated family but it’s not a must. He's the kind of guy who will ask a lot of questions about any person's profession/skills and how things work regardless of background. He's curious that way.

Either way, he is going to show off his smarts and make sure that their family knows where his intellect is at. He wants them to know that the MC picked someone with a good head on their shoulders, after all.

Best keep him away from small children and bratty teens. He isn't exactly opposed to kids, but it takes one little shit to set him off and NO ONE looks good yelling at someone else's kid. Deserved or not.

Will there be cats? Do you have a cat? Please say you have a cat! He's okay with dogs too but if the MC has a cat this man will be ecstatic. The cat will love him and he will love it right back. Honestly, he's already adopted it. It's his now. Who's MC?

Asmodeus

Baby, you can take him anywhere and he’ll be the life of the party! A little family gathering doesn’t matter to him.

Is going to make sure that the moment he walks through the door the MC's family is in awe of what a catch they've got for themselves. He wants them to be proud of their little MC! To him, that translates to looking good and being fun!

Hope this is a house used to physical affection because he will not (and probably cannot) turn it off. Everyone gets hugs. Everyone.

Extra affectionate the whole night. He'll hold the MC's hand or arm or waist or really any part he can get away with. Kisses on the head and cheek aplenty. He may also lowkey butter up their parents with loads of compliments no matter what situation they're in.

If he's told to cool it on the touching though, he may get offended.

Is going to be better with teenage siblings than little, little ones. The man lives to give dating advice, fashion tips, or makeovers, you name it. Though he has to be careful to mention just human products and not some of the stuff he has back home.

Animal fur on his clothes? After he dressed himself so carefully?? No thanks. You can have your cute puppy or your little kitty. He'll take pictures, but he's probably not going pet much.

Beelzebub

Is honestly kind of honored by the suggestion. The MC is already a part of his family so it only seems natural to make him part of theirs. Though he has some reservations, mostly around his appetite...

He doesn't go up to the human world very much because it's really hard for him to stay fed. He's well-known enough in the Devildom that restaurants know what to expect when he walks in. Not so much up there.

Arrange the meeting around a state fair, festival, or carnival where the food is plentiful and he's golden. Hopefully their family won't be too disturbed by how bottomless his stomach is…

Beel is a sweetheart through and through but his lack of knowledge about how the human world, or humans in general, work might come back to bite him. He may need a little 101 about human manners before going.

Truthfully, their family is in for a real treat! This giant may look intimidating, but he's as gentle as they come. The kind of guy who will carry their grandmother’s bags with a smile on his face just for the sake of being helpful. 10/10 Sweetie, mother will approve.

Ooooh little kids are going to love Beel. He'll let their siblings hang off of him like a jungle gym. Will also play games with them if they want him to. Doesn't matter to him, their family is his family too and he wants to see them all happy.

Man wants dogs. Preferably big ones that he can rough-house with but little dogs he can cuddle work too. Do remind him that he can't just rip a whole-ass branch off a tree to play fetch like you could with Cerberus.

Belphegor

Really? You want that? Lol, okay but no promises. This is pretty much the equivalent of sticking two unlabeled chemicals together in a beaker and leaning in to see what happens. Who knows, but now you're stuck in the middle of it.

He's not going to try especially hard to make a good impression or change himself in any way. If their family is into people who are kind of chill and sarcastic then he'll get along swimmingly. If they were expecting more of a Satan type, yeah. No. He's not holding open any doors.

Won't be taking the whole thing all that seriously to be honest, like, what are a bunch of humans going to do if they don’t like him? Tell MC? They're certainly not going to be able to make him leave. He's humoring them at best, even if he's nice, so why bother fussing about it?

Might be a disrespectful little troll at times like pretending to fall asleep or making casual jokes like "Oh no, ma'am. I'm not all that comfortable with that cross over there because I'm a demon. …. Got ya, didn’t I? That'd be silly." *shit-eating grin*

Would appreciate a quiet, slightly introverted family the most. He's going to start getting annoyed if people in the house are too loud and may speed the whole thing along as a result.

Kids are things he'd rather avoid than have to interact with, but if pressed he will humor the little ones too. Don't expect him to do a whole lot of moving, though. If they're happy to just show him things that he can semi-pay attention to, that works for him.

MC has a pet? Is it fluffy? Is it lazy? Bring'em here. Like Beel, he likes big dogs but would rather just bury his face in fluff than try to wrestle it. He may actually fall asleep with them if they lay still enough for it.

[mxvladdy]

heyy i just read your fic Case of the Munchies on ao3 and im Loving it!!!! its amazing!! i was wonder if youre accepting requests and if you haven’t done it could you write the same for the rest: mammon, levi, satan, belphi, dia, barbatos and smth for simeon and luke (ofc platonic) like how angles have a true form and that means they can never relax around mc and how solomon has so much power at his fingertips he can just snap and end them or smth like that? pretty please and thank you!!!!

A/N: Of Course! Of Course! I already did Mammon and Levi HERE so I’ll do the other four in this request! You sent me a lot of good ideas and I’ll sprinkle them out into other requests soon!

Hope you like it!!

Case of the Munchies prt 3!

Word Count: 4.2k

Characters: Satan, Belphie, Diavolo, Barbatos

TW: Mentions of eating and cook humans, very mild gore

Satan

As the only full-blooded demon of the seven, he has thought about it...just hypothetically of course. When you were new to the Devildom he did find your scent more appetizing than the others. It’s a good thing he has the most restraint and control of all his kin, especially when it comes to his more base urges.

He doesn’t hide this knowledge from you. It’s readily available in the library and his own room in the history books. He just won’t bring it up. So if you don’t say anything, he won’t either. What would he say anyway? “Yes, I’ve thought about it, up until it was outlawed it was a staple of our diet after all…” Ye, probably not the best thing to say.

When you finally brought it up he was exasperated. Did you have to bring it up during the few hours he had alone with himself? He wasn’t going to lie but the thought of hurting your feelings would just about do him in.

He will alleviate your worries if you have any. If Satan was anything, he was genuine.

Mini Fic

His wine curdles in his stomach, turning sour along with the take-out he had nabbed for the two of you to enjoy tonight. Drinks and dinner were becoming a staple in your T.V. night tradition. If one of you had had a rough day you would drop by your favorite shop of the hour and pick up a meal to share while you vent.

Today in particular had been a shit day for him. Failed experiment after failed experiment, and one bottle that didn’t explode on impact with the potion he dropped. Sigh. At least your comforting words soothed his wounded pride a little. You chuckle at his escapades glad to see he is not hurt at least. It was nice to have someone to see the humor in something that normally would have dampened his mood.

“You’re a pest.” He laughs at you while snapping his takeout chopsticks in half to use. “I need sympathy-hours of work wasted.” You snort into your own bowl of udon.

“You need words of praise like Beel needs another stomach.” Satan gasps in mock insult pointing a sauce stained chopstick at you.

“How dare you insult your host! After I toiled over this meal of-” What did he get exactly? Honestly, when he placed the order he was near boiling with rage at his careless fumble. It was to be a surprise for you, something to give you a bit of magic while supervised by himself. He knew how frustrated you were with your lack of magical ability in class so he wanted to gift you something grand. Now he has to wait months to try again.

Ah, well...nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.

You watch him sulk over his soup dumplings, his mile away from the comfort of your company and his room. “Come on blondie.” You poke him with your foot before burying them under his pajama-clad thighs on the couch. “Eat your ‘hard earned’ meal before I do.” You snatch up his D.D.D forgetting your own food for a moment to set up your favorite streaming service to cast to his small T.V. “Want to watch a bunch of humans fail miserably at baking?”

"I thought you would never ask."

Satan feels you stiffen in his arms two hours into your bake-off marathon. Your takeout boxes are cold and forgotten on his coffee table, a bottle of wine gone between the two of you. He glances down at you curious.

You were transfixed on the screen. The novice baker on screen was struggling to keep his monstrosity of a cake upright. It was the annual Halloween episode and this fool went for a Silence of the Lambs inspired cake. A good concept really, but very poorly executed. The fake body parts and sugar blood weighted the pastry down dangerously. If he were, to be frank, the cake was also tacky as hell. Heh, he'd have to try to make this for Lucifer.

"Does his abuse of the piping gun offend you that much?" He jokes wrapping an arm around you.

Your laugh is breathy and lacks its usual warmth. "It is excessive isn't it?" You look up at him. "Hey, Satan-have you ever eaten people before?"

"Uhh…" Great, how eloquent. This came out of nowhere, did Lucifer set you up to this? No-no you wouldn’t. Would you hate him if you knew? “I have.” He admits through clenched teeth waiting for your reaction.

“Didn’t Diavolo ban it?” He can tell you are doing the mental math in your head.

He chuckles dryly. “Well, you never asked if I did it legally.” You move away from his touch and pause the show. “I mean...I did it legally! ” His mouth runs freely, his brain screaming at him to shut up.

“Satan.” You cross your arms unimpressed.

“It was a new law and I never meant to eat it for the most part. It was at a time where I was still struggling to control myself.” Young and stupid as Lucifer had said defending him every step of the way when he would slip up. Was it sold on the black market now? Yes. Did he know how to get it? Sure, but he would never nor would he tell you about it either.

You nod thinking about his words. “I can empathize.” Oh, thank the Devil. “Have you thought of eating me?”Ahhh. “Oh my God, you have.” You chuck a pillow at him with a laugh.

He catches the pillow and clutches it to his fiery hot face. “Everyone did at first!” If he was going down then he was going to take every one of his brothers down with him. “I wasn’t going to act on it! It was a spur of the moment-why are you laughing!”

“Sorry, sorry.” You wipe at the tears in your eyes wishing you had your phone to take a picture of his blushing face. “I kind of figured you did.”

Satan looks at you incredulously. “Shouldn’t you be a bit more torn up over this?”

You shrug. “After everything we’ve been through? I admit it was a shock to think at first but I mean, you would have done it by now right?”

“Well, thank you?” He flops back on the couch, still clutching the pillow to act as a barrier between you two. He’ll take it as a compliment.

You scoot close, nudging his knee with yours. “You ok?” He nods. “Can I touch you?” He nods again eagerly. You wrap your arms around his shoulders and squeeze. “Sorry, I made you uncomfortable.”

Satan chuckled, dropping the pillow to hug you back. “It’s ok.” He peaks your forehead. “Now, with that out of the way. Shall we finish this?” He swipes up his phone to hit play. You nod, flinging your legs over him to snuggle closer. “Good, I’m dying to know how he tries to save that thing. I’m putting money on icing.”

“You know.” You break the silence once more, unable to stop yourself. “I wouldn’t be opposed to being eaten...in some ways.”

Belphegor

After your first *ahem* encounter, he doesn’t bring up the whole food thing. He is afraid that if you learned about it, it would be the last strike for you and his relationship. Perhaps it’s paranoia on his part but better safe than sorry.

In all honesty, he didn’t eat it that much anyway. Killing humans was something he did often in his youth as a demon. A stupid attempt at revenge on his part. It filled the holes in his hearts to hurt those he believed killed his sister.

But to eat their flesh? Disgusting. He tried it a few times and it turned his stomach with every mouthful. He just hated them too much to even stomach them. He’s mellowed out with time but still never got a taste for it.

When you asked it was a shock but welcomed in a way. Like he could finally get this weight off his shoulders every time he looked at you.

Mini Fic

“It’s gross.” Belphie yawns, jumping up to sit on the high garden wall. He bends down to help you up placing you gently next to himself. The wind catches you by surprise threatening to topple you back from the wall before he rights you. He tosses his sweater over you with a nod of satisfaction.

You snuggle into the fleece lining burying your nose into the fabric. It smelled of elderberries and honeysuckles. Belphie watches you curl up into his side with a fond smile. “Seriously, you all are nasty.”

“Ouch!” You push his shoulder with a grin. “I feel like I should be offended on behalf of all humans.”

Belphie snorts, looking up into the bright colors of the night sky. “Good. Be offended. You, humans, are slimy.” You squawk indignantly. “It’s true, never in all my years would I willingly ingest it.” He shudders theatrically.

“Rude.”

“Shouldn’t you be happy? Lest I eat you?” He growls playfully, taking a swipe at you. He pulls you close to kiss the pout off your face. He stops only when your face is hot and your smile threatens to pull a muscle. “I’ll keep you safe, always.” He vows resting his chin on your head.

“Do you think other demons would try to eat me?”

“Have you met my twin?” He teases. He takes your jab to his ribs with a smile. “But if one of those lesser demons even tries to breathe in your direction I’ll kill them.”

“Ok, Mister sleeps till dinner.” You joke. His vow warms your heart a little, chasing away the small bit of fear that had rested itself in your chest. You saw how some demons looked at you at R.A.D, the longing and hungry looks got to be a bit much sometimes. A few older demons would discuss it loudly when they knew you were close by. Apparently, it was a long standing tradition of demons eating humans both body and soul when a pact was concluded.

Imagine what those brothers would do to them…

You shake your head hugging Belphie closer. You had nothing but his word that he would keep you safe, yet that was enough for you. Besides, he wasn’t one to follow the rules even at the best of times.

“I’m serious. You're off limits for everyone.”

You nod into his shirt, closing your eyes to enjoy the peace of the moment. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Diavolo

It is so far from his mind that when you say something it is like a rug was taken out from under him. He could be diplomatic about it, but you deserve better than a half-truth.

He was a wild child in his youth. Sometimes he would overindulge in his father’s heritage and gorge himself on his newfound powers and privilege. He would dine with the elders and eat with abandon under their proud eyes.

He regrets it now, in your company it brings up a slurry of emotions. Sometimes when he looks at you he sees flashes of his past behavior.

The urge is stronger in him than the brothers, a constant nagging tug in his guts, but he is strong. Stronger both in willpower and sheer physical prowess than them so the pull is more of an annoyance than a burning need. He can temper the hunger in other ways if need be *wink*

He fears what you might think of him if you ever found out the truth, but however you take it he will handle it in stride. He loves you too much not to.

Mini Fic

Dinners, when Diavolo could eat alone, were a rare and special treat. The solace of just being allowed to exist without constantly checking his posture or presentation was a blessing, just him, his thoughts, and a good meal. It was nice to have no paperwork to worry about staining this time or a tedious meeting where he couldn’t savor his meal. No, no this was good. He looks down at his heavily laden plate and smiles. Well, almost… Pulling out his phone he snaps a quick picture and sends it to you with a simple question. Join me?

Private meals were wonderful, but with you, they were perfect.

You arrive faster than he expected, flushed face and clutching a stitch in your side from rushing over. He almost felt bad before he saw the eager look in your eyes. Barbatos helps you with your school bags and coat before placing another plate of food across from the young lord. He winks at the prince before disappearing back through the door.

“Thank you for the invite!” You beam taking your seat across from him. “I hope you don’t mind that I'm not dressed for the occasion. I was just wrapping up a study session with the boys.” You look down at your rumpled lounge clothes.

Diavolo waved his hand disregarding your concerns. “I would emulate you if I had the time.” He looks at his own pressed school uniform. He had another meeting this evening, much to his distaste. “You look rather comfortable.” You smile in delight before tucking into your own plate.

You eat in a comfortable silence reading the room well enough to tell that he wished for some company but not needless chitter-chatter. Barbatos arrived moments after you put your fork down and left with the plate leaving behind a delicious smelling hot drink. You couldn’t put your finger on the flavor but it tastes spicy like cinnamon and coats your throat like warm honey.

Whatever was in the drink seemed to work some magic on the prince. His shoulder droop, his back sinking into the chair as his legs stretch out till they are close to brushing against yours. He starts talking over the drink, eyes slowly lighting up with delight. You drink, nodding along with him as he builds up steam. It was nice to see him so unguarded and light. You listen to him talk about simple innocent topics. You knew how he tried to have these conversations with the others to no avail. The brother’s always tried to stay clear of him, and Lucifer simply dismissed these things most days. Barbatos and the angels were a bit better but still listened mostly to placate him.

“Ah!” Diavolo stops mid-sentence as his door opens once more Barbatos holding a small platter in his gloved hand. Dia claps his hands in delight. “I’ve been wanting to have you try this with me for forever. The human palate is so different, but I hope this is tasty.”

“What is it?” You eye the covered plate curiously.

Dia says a word in infernal. It is harsh and guttural in his throat but his delight was evident in his tone. “It is like...a roasted nut? Sorry, it is difficult to explain but it has been a favorite treat of mine since I was a boy. I hope you like it too.” He opens the lid with little ceremony and tilts the bowl to you. Inside were several golfball sized pods piled on top of each other. Even from across the table you could feel the molten heat radiating from the porous black shell. It looked...ugly. Like a hunk of dried lava. You eye it suspiciously as Diavolo picks one up with his bare hands and bits it. The shell cracks under his sharp teeth, a fang catching in a weak spot with a noise that makes you shiver. Underneath the thick casing, you could see a dark red and fleshy core. He hums in delight pulling put the meat of the seed and discard the shell pieces onto an empty plate. He makes quick work of the innards already reaching for another by the time you casually pick up a seed.

The seed itself was dense and warm to the touch. You squeeze it, noting that the porous coating felt like a mass of steel in your hand. “Dia-how do I open it?” No way you could bite it, not without breaking your jaw in the process.

“Allow me.” He takes it from you and effortlessly cracks it. “It is a tradition to break them with teeth, instead of hands or utensils. Something about a show of strength. I just find it fun.” He shrugs, handing you the broken seed.

“Fun!” You marvel at his pearly fangs. “Those are some big chompers.”

“All the better to eat you with my dear.” He chuckles.

You blink in shock, eyes widening. “Would you? Eat me?”

Diavolo’s smile drops. “No.” He lies on reflex, his political nature kicking in. “No-no wait.” He shakes his head. “I...at a time would have without hesitation.” He feels you recoil. “It was common practice back in the day. To the common demon it was a great meal and for the ruling class a show. He looks down at the broken fragments of shell on his plate. Breaking the shell was far too reminiscent of other things. He squashes the unwanted wave of memories coming up. Instead, he looks up at you.

You sit quietly mulling over his words. You haven’t run yet. “Why did you stop?”

He leans back with a loud exhale. Why did he stop? There were many reasons, none he wished to divulge into at the moment, but he had to say something. “I grew up, and began to resent and regret it.” He used to read human stories of demons and his kind. They hurt their characterizations of him and his people. Yet, they had all been scarily accurate. He wanted to prove that they weren’t stagnating beasts, slaves to their desires. Even if it wasn't a popular opinion.

“I see.” You pick up the seed again. “Thank you for telling me. You didn’t have to.”

“But I wanted to, and to apologize… such admissions must have ruined your appetite. If you wish to retire-”

“Is it weird if it didn’t?” You cut him off. You felt-not apathetic to the knowledge but close to it. It confirmed a lot of things for you and put certain things in perspective. You still felt safe with him even with this new bit of knowledge. Without a second thought, you pop the treat into your mouth. You gasp in delight. The flavor and texture were not what you were expecting, but was delicious all the same. “Can you open another for me?” You push your plate over to him.

“Of course!”

The food was as wonderful as his company.

Barbatos

You knew he cooked it. He probably knows a million different ways to prepare a human. He is also very blunt about his dabblings in the market.

He doesn’t eat it, hasn’t ever. He sees no reason to, especially since he doesn’t need to eat anyway there is no temptation. He did find the meals he created beautiful though.

Once he lived for the praises of the courts and his young lord. He was a master at all mediums he cared to work with. Time, decorum, or of the flesh.

He is 100% unashamed of his past with the dark side of the Devildom’s history. In fact, he is damn near proud of it. He is a demon and it was a part of his life, if that frightens you, well there is nothing he can do about it.

He’ll entertain your questions and will try to put any lingering worries at ease. Just don’t expect to be coddled when he does.

Mini Fic

Barbatos had very few personal pleasures in his life. His schedule simply didn’t have the space for such things. So why even bother looking for a pastime. It wasn’t until Diavolo gifted him with an old worn cookbook did he find it.

Cooking was a necessity for his prince, but with that little book, it became something he looked forward to doing. Slowly, he began to seek them out, filling his growing quarters with cookbooks and loose-leaf slips of paper. He enjoys reading them. Each book was a little time capsule into the cook's life and memories. Could a mix of spices really remind someone of the arid heat of their motherland? Or does following a certain way of aging meat really honor the writer's late grandfather’s memory? He tries them all, each recipe a little invasion to a happier time.

He wrote his fair share of cookbooks too in his day. Simple modifications to things the young lord liked to the odd machinations of his own imagination. He got good at experimenting with flavors and textures over the years, mastering certain cooking techniques and flavors just for fun. He didn’t share many of them, a lot of his recipes were just too complicated for most. Luke was allowed to look at his pastry books only. The little cherub was enamored with his techniques and wanted to learn as much as he could in the short amount of time he was in the Devildom. Admirable, but he made sure to keep some of his...less savory books away from the boy. He shudders to think what Simeon would do if he scarred the young angel.

You are the only one who has full access to his collections. Whether you liked to cook was inconsequential to him. He simply enjoyed sharing this interest with you. Some nights you would take it upon yourself to be his “sous-chef”. Which meant you sat in the corner of the kitchen and read out the ingredients and steps for a recipe he knew by heart. Sometimes you would add in extra steps in an attempt to stump it. Cute...but ultimately failed each time. So, most nights when you tagged along to the kitchens you just flip through his collection, reading his immaculate scribblings crammed into the corners of the pages or where he scratched out certain ingredients for more demon-appropriate foods and more sustainable options.

You had gone through many beautiful books before you found it. The cookbook was small and inconspicuous compared to most. Just a simple black cover with a well-worn spine. What made you take notice of it was just how dusty it was. That wasn’t like him to do. Barbatos would never let something get so dirty. You wished you never had opened it. You weren’t stupid by any means, but after reading a few pretty graphic recipes it had unsettled you. So you withdrew from Barbatos trying to forget about the book tucked away deep in the bowels of your school bag.

“You’ve been distant.” You choke, hand flying up to your chest as you swear your heart skipped a beat. Damn demon. Should put a bell on him. “What’s wrong?” His eyes are piercing, cutting away at your feeble defenses.

“Nothing…” You fiddle with your bag’s strap. Your eyes drop to the floor taking in the differences between his polished shoes and your scuffed boots.

“Of course not…” You could hear the skepticism in his voice. “I trust that if there was something wrong you would feel safe enough to confide in me.” His words hit like a ton of bricks on your shoulders. He sighs seeing that his words got no reaction. “Please?”

Wordlessly you rummage in your bag and thrust the book into his chest. “Sorry. It shook me up more than I thought it would.”

Ah. He knew this book all too well. For a time it had been his favorite, one to pull out with Diavolo had guests or a deal that needed to be sealed. He accepts the book, noting how much your hands shook. “I understand.” He slips the book into his breast pocket making a mental note to hide it in one of his lesser used rooms. “Would you like to discuss this? In my room perhaps?” You follow with a timid nod.

“Where shall we begin?” Barbatos asks the moment he closes the door to his room.

“You don’t seem perturbed.” You frown. Barbatos shrugs, pulling the book out and opening it. He had a lot of good memories stored here. Some of these were still considered signature dishes, oftentimes a visiting dignitary would lament to him about the good old days when he could show off his craft when flesh was plentiful. He takes pride in that still to this day even. For as much as he loved you, he would not be ashamed of this.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” You shake your head when he says as much. “It just confused me. Do-do you see me as food?”

“I never saw humans as food, no more than I see demons or angels as it.” He picks at an imaginary bit of lent from his pant leg. “As for seeing you as food no. No matter how sweet your lips are, or how honeyed your words can be.” He smiles, taking impish delight in your squirming. “I merely did my job as a butler for my lord.”

“Oh- sorry for not coming to you sooner.” You felt foolish now. Barbatos waves it off, pleased to have this issue put aside so quickly and cleanly. “Wait-" You gasp as his words finally sink in. “Have you prepared angels before?”

He flashes you a mischievous smile putting a single finger up to his lips. “Perhaps~ do you wish to read that too?”

[beelsnack]

Let's Continue This Elsewhere - Commission for mc-reborn (NSFW)

Alright, first batch of commissions is done! This one is for mc-reborn (who Tumblr isn't letting me tag for some reason) featuring their adorable MC Stiina. They wanted an NSFW continuation of the Devilgram "Buffing Up Belphie." They were amazingly patient with me because it took me 84 years to get this done, so thank you so much for commissioning me!! ^^

I'm still open for commissions, if anyone is interested! You can check out all of my info here!

-----

“...Please say it.”

Stiina could feel the roughness of the tree bark through her cardigan as Belphegor backed her against it. The demon’s hands settled next to her head, and she could faintly hear his almost-claws digging into the tree as he leaned in closer. His breath fanned out across her face, and she could smell the mint of his toothpaste combined with the chocolate she had snuck him while Beel let them take a quick break.

“...I want a kiss.” he muttered, eyes flicking down to her lips.

It wasn’t like Belphie hadn’t been obvious about what he wanted the whole time they were making their way through the forest. There had been a few times when Stiina thought he was going to pounce on her, but he waited until they were far enough into the forest that Beel wouldn’t be able to track them down. Sometimes she just needed the confirmation that she wasn’t imagining things, that Belphie wasn’t just humoring her.

He made a soft sound of surprise in the back of his throat when Stiina cupped his jaw and brought their lips together. It was chaste, and probably not what Belphie had been after. Her suspicions were confirmed when she pulled away to see the childish pout on his face.

“Hey,” he huffed. “I was going to kiss you first.”

Stiina giggled. “Sorry.”

Belphie bumped their noses together affectionately. “Fine, it’s my turn now.”

One of his hands slipped behind her head, preventing her from smacking it against the tree as he kissed her. Just like everything else about the demon, Belphie’s kisses were full of quiet intensity. It was hard to imagine the Avatar of Sloth doing anything passionately, but Stiina couldn’t think of another way to describe the way his mouth moved against hers. He kissed her like she was the air he needed to breathe.

“Mm…” he mumbled as they broke apart, licking his lips. “I’m taking the driver’s seat today...you better be ready for a wild ride.”

“You don’t usually take the initiative.” Stiina raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged before leaning down to mouth at the sensitive spot where her neck and shoulder met. A shiver ran up her spine, and she could feel him smirk against her skin.

“We’ll call this a thank you for sticking with me all day,” he nosed at her jaw, urging her to tilt her neck to give him more room. “I think the only one who actually wanted to be there was Beel.”

“He did seem to be enjoying himself.”

“If it was anyone other than him I would think they were trying to torture me.”

Belphie’s hands dropped from their position on either side of her head to squeeze her waist. She squirmed, making a noise that was somewhere between uncomfortable and surprised. She knew she wasn’t exactly a supermodel, and she kept waiting for a snide comment about her weight. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“If you overthink any harder, smoke will come out of your ears.”

She jumped. “Sorry…!”

“I’ve told you already,” Belphie murmured, lips hot against her neck as he pulled her closer by the hips. “Whatever hangups those silly little humans had about your body don’t bother me in the slightest.”

He broke away from her throat to kiss her properly, and she forced herself to relax as he softly ran the tips of his nails against the dip of her hips. Old habits died hard.

“Don’t worry,” Belphie smirked, backing away just enough to speak. “You won’t be thinking of anything besides me for a while.”

Stiina pouted. “You’re not allowed to be that smooth.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t be, so it gives you an unfair advantage!”

He laughed softly, gently dragging the tips of his nails along the dip of her waist. “A demon taking advantage of a poor, innocent human. Tale as old as time.”

“True as it can be~”

“I’m not singing Beauty and the Beast with you.”

“Boo,” she giggled, squirming around as his hands traveled up beneath her shirt. “Knock it off, that tickles.”

“Hm, that’s not quite the sensation I’m going for.” His voice had got husky. “The shirt’s in the way.”

It took a minute for Stiina to realize what he was implying. “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.”

“What?” Belphie wasn’t the most patient demon, so she wasn’t surprised when he got a little huffy with her. “You were all in a second ago.”

“Well, for one, we just spent the day working out with your beast of a twin, so both of us are sweaty and gross.”

“As opposed to how squeaky clean we’re going to be afterwards?”

“Belphegor!”

“Fine, fine,” he backed up to let her push herself off of the tree, but almost immediately laced their fingers together. “But we’re going to your room. I don’t want Beel bursting in.”

The hot water felt good on Stiina’s sore muscles. After the adrenaline had worn off, she felt like she had been hit by a truck. Even her hair hurt.

...And there were leaves in it. Courtesy of Belphie being an impatient bastard.

After finally detangling the last leaf from her curly brown hair, she sighed, letting her arms drop. She was going to ache for days.

She reached over to load up her wash cloth with strawberry-scented body wash and got to work. The soapy water came away brown from all of the dirt and sweat, and she grimaced. Yeah, a shower had definitely been a good idea.

Suddenly, she heard a noise. It was hard to figure out what it was over the sound of the shower. It happened again, slightly louder this time. She only realized what it was after the locked bathroom door swung open.

“Will you stop picking my locks, please?”

“I didn’t pick the lock,” Belphie’s silhouette appeared on the shower curtain. She couldn’t see, but she would bet any amount of money that he was smirking like a little shit right now. “I opened it was your student id card.”

“Still technically picking it!”

The shower curtain slid open, causing Stiina to yelp and drop her wash cloth. There stood Belphie, completely naked. And smirking, called it.

“Are we going to argue semantics right now?” he stepped into the shower behind her, closing the curtain behind him.

“Seriously, Belphie?”

“I couldn’t wait,” he hummed, sliding his arms around her waist until she was pressed against his chest. “You were taking too long.”

“I’ve only been in here for, like, five minutes.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t jump you on the way here.”

“Absolutely feral.”

She felt his grin against the back of her neck. “You love it.”

Stiina spun around in his grip. There was alway one sure-fire way to get the demon to shut up.

He moaned softly as she cupped the back of his head to bring him in for a kiss. He loosened his grip around her waist to bring his hands around to her ass. He used his grip to bring their bodies flush together, and she gasped into his mouth.

“I’m really worked up,” Belphie murmured. “Maybe it’s the adrenaline.”

“Or it could be that your totally naked girlfriend is making out with you in the shower.” Stiina shot back.

“I guess that might have something to do with it.” he laughed, dragging the knuckles of one hand down the side of her face in a surprisingly sweet gesture. “You do make me feel strange things, after all.”

“Like what?”

“Warm and fuzzy things,” his hand continued to trace itself down her body, grazing over the sensitive spot on her neck. She shivered. “Things that demons probably shouldn’t be allowed to feel.”

“Oh, now who has hang-ups - ah!”

His hand had made his way down to her breasts, long thumbnail flicking at one of her nipples. “Don’t ruin the moment.”

“Jerk.” She was smiling.

His hand continued it’s journey south, rubbing a soothing circle against the crease where her hip met thigh. Then, finally, his index finger slipped over to her entrance.

She sighed, eyes fluttering. For all of her talk, she was pretty worked up as well, and Belphie’s words made everything that much sweeter. He could be nice when he wanted to.

“Belphie…” she exhaled, looping her arms around his shoulders like they had been in the forest. Again, they met for a kiss, tongues twisting together as Belphie slid another finger inside of her. Both of them were panting, and she could feel his dick become very interested against her.

He hooked his fingers at just the right angle and she whined into his mouth. He swallowed her noises like they were a sweet drink, pressing against her clit just this shy of too hard. In a vain attempt to get him to hurry up, she rolled her hips against him.

“And you say I’m impatient?” he broke away from her mouth with a wet pop, an impish grin on his face.

“You’re insufferable, is what you are.” she panted. “Please, Belphie, come on.”

“Well, since you said please…”

He reversed their positions so she was the one pressed up against the shower wall. From this position, the ceiling light shined from behind him, giving him a halo and making him seem like the angel he used to be a few millennia ago. For a moment, she was struck by just how beautiful he was.

“You’re staring.”

“You’re pretty.”

He looked surprised, a blush dusting across the tops of his cheeks. “...hm.”

Belphie leaned down to kiss her again, softly and gently, as he lined himself up with her entrance. He was breathing heavily, and Stiina could feel his core muscles tensing and flexing as he tried to resist the urge to thrust into her with wild abandon

She internally snorted. ‘Demons can’t resist temptations,’ my ass.

Little by little, he inched his way into her until he was buried up to the hilt. Neither of them could tell what was sweat and what was water, but they were both so flushed and turned on that the steam in the bathroom very well could have been coming off of their skin.

“I’m...moving now.”

And that was all the warning she got before he pulled almost completely out and slammed in.

He set a brutal pace from the get go. Turns out that the Avatar of Sloth can be very enthusiastic during certain activities. But, there was one problem that was making itself very apparent: their height difference. Belphie was by no means the tallest of his brothers, but that still made him one of the taller people Stiina had ever met.

“...damn it…” he growled. She whimpered when he pulled out, but there was a method to his madness. He grabbed the backs of her thighs and hoisted her up, pinning her to the wall with his torso. She had no choice but to wrap her legs around his hips, and they were back in business. Looks like the workouts were paying off.

The shift in angle was exactly what they both needed, and Belphie returned to thrusting into her with vigor. “Mm...nngh…!”

“B-Belph--a-ah!” She bit her lip almost hard enough to draw blood, and he dropped his head into the crook of her neck. His hips were stuttering, and each of his breaths was ending on a little moan.

His stomach tensed, and he bit down hard into the junction between her neck and shoulder as he came. She followed not too far behind, fingernails leaving long red scratches on his shoulder blades as she sought something to anchor her. She threw her head back almost hard enough to knock herself out when it hit the wall.

For a few moments, there was nothing but the sound of their labored breaths and the shower. Eventually, the afterglow faded and Belphie pulled out, releasing Stiina’s legs. She slumped back against the wall and the two of them slid down to sit on the floor. Belphie practically melted in her lap.

“...I think you left a mark.” she finally murmured, carding her fingers through his wet hair.

“Good. Show it off.”

“Absolutely not.”

“No fun,” he smirked, before his sense of touch returned and he shivered. “The water’s gone cold.”

“Turn it off, then.”

“You do it.”

“Then get off of me.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“You are such a brat,” Stiina grumbled, just barely managing to stretch over and shut the water off. As soon as it stopped, Belphie stood from her lap.

“Really?”

“Yup.”

She sighed, letting her body rest heavily against the wall as Belphie went rooting around in her cupboards for a clean towel. “You know, I think this endurance training is paying off.”

“Yeah?”

“You never would have been able to hold me up during sex like that before.”

Belphie paused, eyes widening briefly before that familiar sly grin spread over his face.

“Guess I’ll have to keep at it then.”

[lucas-koh]

Stitches - Bryce Lahela x MC XIV

Open Heart; only somewhat canon compliant.

Parts 1-13 linked in bio

Song: When My Love Won’t Stick To You - Whitaker

Rating: M, swearing, sexual language, references of violence

Word Count: 3286

Taglist: @lahellacute @lahamseiroshoe @anotherbeingsworld @fuseboxmusebox @choicesficwriterscreations @bubblelaureno @bratzlahela @eleanorbloom @bryceslahela @thegreentwin @kelseaaa @kingkassam || please let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from this list

A/N: just to say Stitches will not be updating next Friday, since it’s Christmas Day I will not be majorly online. I’ll be posting again Jan 1st 2021💛

Chapter Fourteen: Everything Goes But The Memories Made

“What?” She barely whispered, her head spinning. Bryce had just revealed to her that he remembered her from their college days when they’d shared a kiss once, drunk.

He looked nervous, afraid to continue, but he did.

“Truth be told, I always had a soft spot for you. You know when you just feel warm around someone, even if you barely know them? That’s how you made me feel. When I’d see you studying at the library with snacks and coffee splayed all around you, or when I’d see you at the hospital for lectures, it was always just a mental ‘hey, I know you’ and suddenly everything would feel okay. Seeing someone you recognise is really grounding, you know? Especially when there’s a distance and you don’t really know them. And I liked the competition of it all, that you were so smart and always number 1 but didn’t even know it was me at number 2, because you were so confident in your own abilities you didn’t need to look back. I wanted to be your friend, but you didn’t seem to have the time, so I let you be. And then you kissed me at that frat party and I thought, god, this is amazing. I didn’t think into it too much - college and all - but I have thought about it a lot since. And then when you crashed into me on our first day at Edenbrook, at first I didn’t know who you were. You look different, you know. It’s been like, seven years, after all, it wasn’t until I saw your name tag that it hit me. Why you’d felt so familiar. But I wanted to wait until you recognised me too, if you even did. And then when you did, I got nervous, and tried to ignore it.”

Holy shit. He… he really remembered me. Not even just from the kiss, either, he remembered me before that.

Suki stammered a little before the words came out, “…Bryce… I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just say?”

“Honestly? I was embarrassed that you didn’t recognise me to begin with. More so, I was embarrassed that I’d known you and recognised you and always thought about you every now and then and you hadn’t,” he said. “I guess it felt sort of… creepy?”

“Wow…” was all she could stifle out. She was at a loss for much more.

Bryce had remembered her, for all this time. Things felt like they were looking up, the way he’d opened up to her and finally told her the truth. Unfortunately, the altercation with Fred and Ben wouldn’t stop nagging at the back of Suki’s brain.

“…sorry,” Bryce exhaled, rubbing his hand across his neck bashfully.

“No, I- don’t worry. I get it. It was just a kiss I’m sure you had loads, but it’s weird.”

“This is why- I didn’t want you to think I was weird.”

“No! Not you! I’m really glad I’m not forgettable,” she laughed lightly, “it’s weird that… oh god it’s going to sound ridiculous.”

“It can’t sound more ridiculous than what I just said. I won’t laugh,” he said, then twisted the corner of his mouth up into a grin, “maybe.”

She sighed, burying her head in her hands before coming out with it. “I guess it just feel like we keep being pulled together, like, i don’t know,” she felt her cheeks become seriously hot, “fate.”

Bryce had lied, because he burst out laughing, which then devolved into a coughing fit and had Suki patting him on the back. Maybe a little harder than she was meant to.

“Ow!”

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!” Except she was laughing, too.

“I know, I know. You just looked funny. Honestly? I do see what you mean. All signs pointing to us ended up here,” he gestured between them, sat facing each-other in his bed.

Maybe this cosmic power she’d been cursing for all the early embarrassing encounters wasn’t so bad after all.

—-

Bryce and Suki talked for hours about college, and their stories, and people they knew in common. They laughed about how Suki didn’t even know Bryce sat near her in most lectures, and only knew him by his reputation.

A little later, after raking through Bryce’s Stanford yearbook and finding Suki in there, Bryce pulled out his high school yearbook.

“This is my senior photo. Just before graduation.”

Bryce was smiling up from the page, his golden tinged hair darker and shoulder length, and silver piercings shone from his ear, eyebrow, nostril, and lip. When Suki had known him he’d been piercing free.

“Oh my god! Why the hell did you stop looking like this for college? You know, I might’ve actually spoken to you if you’d looked like this.”

“Eh. I wanted to be taken more seriously. Why?”

“Don’t make me say it you dick.”

He nudged closer, smug all over his face. “What?”

“Because it looks good on you.”

“So I don’t look good like this?” He motioned down his body, which might’ve been sexy if he was in better shape. Well, as in his cold. His physique was perfect…

Suki gave him an affectionately knowing smile, “of course you do. I like the way you look very much,” she nodded. Then when Bryce’s face lit up she added: “but you’re not going to catch me saying that again anytime soon, okay? Your ego is big enough.”

Bryce moved to get up from the bed, “look, I’m just going to the piercing shop I won’t be long-“

Suki pulled him back down to the bed with a laugh, “Bryce! Although I wouldn’t oppose I’m not sure you’d be allowed in surgeries looking like metal face.”

“It would make things interesting though…”

“What?”

“A lip ring. Maybe a tongue ring. Imagine the kissing, or me going down on you…”

“Bryce.”

“What! Don’t tell me you wouldn’t consider it.”

“You are not getting any action while you’re sick.”

He leaned closer to her in the bed, “I got you to kiss me.”

She sighed and pulled the back of her hand up to check his temperature. Before she got there however, he took it from her.

“What’s this?” He brushed a finger lightly across her fingers, by the edge of the bandaging.

Ah, crap. This guy really does make me lose my mind. I’d forget my name if I spent too long around him.

“Work casualty,” she tried to laugh nonchalantly and pull her hand back to his forehead to seem normal. But he brought it back down to inspect it. His brow furrowed as he tried to decide what was under the gauze, and then he used one of his hands to grab Suki’s other one. He turned this one so that the palm was facing up and the scars from the month before were visible; standing paler than her skin tone right in the centre.

He held each hand in his own like they were feathers, opposite directions up.

“Does it hurt?” He asked, moving his thumb as if about to graze over the scars, asking permission.

“No, go ahead.”

He followed the neat shape of the puckered skin with the pad of his thumb, as gentle as he had been when he’d stitched it. Suki’s hand felt cold under his touch, the sensation on her scar able to feel each fingerprint dragging over.

He dropped her scarred hand somewhat to the mattress, but still held it in his own, shifting their hands slightly so that it was more of a classic hand-hold.

Suki tried not to focus on the bolt of electricity coursing from that spot. She’d wanted to hold his hand for so long, and here he was holding it like it was no big deal. His thumb ran up and down her skin in a soothing motion.

He turned his attention to the other, biting his lip as he looked.

“Whatever caused this, it’s gonna have to answer some questions.”

“It was just, uh, slammed it in the double doors. Those are heavy,” she cleared her throat, hating every fibre of herself for lying.

“Stupid door.” He brought his face down to the bandaged hand and placed a featherlight kiss to the top of her knuckles, “I’m a surgeon, I have magic kisses.”

“Oh dear,” she laughed, a little breathless and trying to seem light and uncaring, “did you take some medicine this morning? I think it’s kicking in.”

He chuckled, almost back to his usual Bryce chuckle, “but,” he cleared his throat, clearly gearing up to make a cheeky comment by the smirk on his face, “if I had a tongue piercing, my kisses really would be magic.”

“Oh my god,” Suki couldn’t help but laugh at him.

As they laughed together on Bryce’s bed, hands tangled together and bodies close, Suki truly felt happy. Like things really could work out for her. For them. And Suki was having an amazing time just being with Bryce.

The only problem was the albatross hanging around her neck.

—-

The next thing Suki knew, she was waking up in Bryce’s bed. He was sat beside her, scrolling through his phone.

She blinked her eyes a few times to make sure she was seeing things right, and moved to sit up.

“I… fell asleep?” She asked groggily, causing Bryce to turn to face her. He smiled when he saw her.

“Yeah. I figured I should just let you, you seemed pretty tired.”

She realised she must’ve fallen asleep when Bryce had been searching for some Stanford pictures, because that was the last thing she remembered.

She sighed, “you should’ve woken me.”

“Nah, you were working all night.”

And getting into it with your colleagues…

She sighed again and bit her lip, figuratively and physically.

“You really should’ve woken me,” she whispered, unable to handle Bryce treating her like this knowing she’d stuck her nose where it didn’t belong.

He smiled back at her, she could see in his face that he knew something was up.

“You’re fine. It’s what friends do.”

“Bryce.” She felt like she was sighing his name a lot these days, and not in the way either of them liked the most.

He twisted his face up into a grin and Suki noticed his eyes were much brighter now, “Suki.”

She rolled her eyes, but she was terrible at hiding her guilt. She had to get out of there, because if Bryce was the one trying to alleviate it she’d feel even worse. She started to shift in the bed, but Bryce reached an arm out over her waist.

She just sort of lay there shocked as he shifted over closer to her, putting his torso over hers.

“At least let me try and kiss away some of those frown lines. If I remember correctly, it’s one of our benefits,” he smirked, hell-bent on making her feel better and in turn making her feel even worse. She couldn’t kiss him and feel like it was okay, because even that, even what was happening at that moment, felt like overstepping and taking it too far and Suki knew that it was on her. She was the one who caught feelings, who started blurring the lines and the rules and taking liberties where possible. She was the one unable to tell Bryce the truth. About her feelings or about her meddling.

But she also knew they were on borrowed time, and this might be the last chance she had to kiss him.

So she put as much as she could into it as she pulled his face to hers, hands on his cheeks and feeling the soft skin with a little bit of stubble beginning to come through, committing it to memory. Her lips pressed to his slowly but definitely, making sure each inch of herself was tied to him. With the kiss her head was filled with every other kiss they’d shared: at college, in the supply closet, at the housewarming party, and the many since. He wasn’t trying to force more like he had earlier, he seemed to be savouring it as much as she was, his lips sweet and slightly chapped but so familiar and Suki felt at home.

Kissing him was that to her.

She felt her face scrunch up as she kissed him, praying to god this wasn’t the last time. His familiar citrus scent washed over her and she never wanted to stop kissing him.

Reluctantly, but knowing she had to, Suki pulled her mouth from Bryce’s. Her eyes were glued shut and her forehead lulled against his, feeling his hair tickle her skin and his hot breaths wash over her face.

“Woah…” he exhaled, speechless to say much more.

Bryce’s kindness and the fact that she liked him so ridiculously much just meant that Suki’s guilt kept growing and growing. She just knew this couldn’t last.

—-

A couple of days passed by and Suki had been bogged down with work again, and hadn’t been able to see Bryce since that day. He’d texted a couple of times and seemed to be on rising spirits, so she was pleased about that.

It was just, every time she thought about Bryce, she couldn’t help but think about what she’d done.

Or about how the clock was ticking down until he found out.

And it was.

Bryce was back to work that day, he’d told her, and she was filled with anxiety the entire time.

Suki was on her way home later that day, just about to enter her apartment building when a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“We need to talk.” It was dark and low and every part of her went cold. She turned to face him, that face of her dreams stern and distant and everything she never wanted to see.

“Okay. There’s people home. We can go to the river.”

Bryce just nodded and started in the other direction.

Suki nervously followed behind him, afraid to catch up for she didn’t know what to say. Building in her chest were nerves and dread and like a hairline crack in her heart which she knew would expand soon enough.

She thought about the last time she saw him, the kiss they shared. How happy they’d been.

They came to the river as the sun was just setting, sparkling over the water like constellations. Bryce’s soft caramel skin was golden in the sunlight, the light reflecting in his eyes and Suki’s heart was put through a wringer just looking at him. Was this it? The last time she’d ever get to see him like this?

Suki searched her brain for ways to start, how to apologise, but Bryce beat her to it.

“Why, Suki?” It wasn’t anger, it was at a loss.

“Why what?” Bad move, Suki. He knows. There’s no point still lying to him.

“Why did you meddle in my business?”

“Because they had no right to do what they did.”

“You’ve made it worse! Now they’re never going to leave me alone! I don’t care about being liked I care about doing my fucking job! It was fine—it was over!” Bryce’s voice was now angry. Suki wasn’t sure which hurt worse. Or maybe they exacerbated each-other, like a hammer and a nail. The nail was the disappointment, and the anger just kept bruising it further into her chest.

“I- are you really pissed at me for standing up for you?” If she just let him know her intentions, maybe she could fix this.

“I’m pissed at you for going and stirring shit up! You crossed a line!”

“It wasn’t just me, Jackie was there too and I don’t see you yelling at her.”

“Well I’m not sleeping with Jackie!”

“What?” She spat.

“You-” his face scrunched up and she felt her heart scrunch with it, “you kissed me. Twice! Knowing you’d gone behind my back and disrupted things.”

“What did you mean you’re ‘not sleeping with Jackie’? Why does that mean we’re held to different standards?” She asked, her voice raised, ignoring his words because the truth hurt too much to say.

“And you didn’t tell me! You spent the entire day with me where you could’ve mentioned it and you didn’t even bother! I thought we were-” He ignored her too, but his voice halted like he couldn’t say what came next.

She couldn’t tell if his voice was breaking from the cold or the anger – but it was heartbreaking.

“No, I didn’t, because I had no clue how you’d react. And look! You’re so… mad,” as she said the last words her voice shook and it came out like a whisper. In fact, her hands started shaking too. Her eyes were beginning to blur from stinging tears welling at the bottom. She’d upset him – the last thing she ever wanted to do.

“You’re damn right I’m mad!” He yelled, and Suki flinched at the noise. “Your hand – you told me you shut it in a fucking car door! I saw his face Suki. You seriously hit him? For some stupid petty rumours?”

“Yes, I hit him,” she could really feel the tears coming as she spoke firm and loud, “he could’ve fucked everything up for you.” And it was cloying with her words, when it came to Bryce, it seemed the anger couldn’t come without pain, too.

“He’s not the only one who fucked things up for me. I mean, you violated my trust,” he shook his head, his hair blowing in the light breeze, “I trusted you,” he said this quieter, and Suki got the impression he wouldn’t have been able to yell it. It was hurt.

“And I ruined that.” I ruined everything. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’ve never cared for someone like this.

“Yeah. You went behind my back on something I told you in confidence, and then lied to me about it. I feel so fucking—” he shook his head, at a loss for words. But he looked embarrassed.

“That wasn’t—I—just wanted to them to know how bad they fucked up! I was so mad that they did that to you.”

“It was months ago! It’s over, old news! And it was my problem to solve.”

“Well you matter to me! Okay?” It came out like a sneeze she couldn’t hold back and her heart was beating more rapidly as soon as she said it. Shit.

Bryce’s expression then was completely unreadable. Suki had no idea what was going on in his head. He just looked at her like that for a few moments, her statement hanging in the air like cigarette smoke. And then Bryce finally came out with something.

“We’re sleeping together Suki – what did you think you were doing?”

And her head was running like a machine; all cogs and whirring and sparks and clanging. The emphasis he’d put on that one word, and she knew where this was headed. Every bad dream, every nauseous predictive thought she’d had lately was laid out in front of her and coming true.

She didn’t want to ask her next question. But she had to. She had to. She knew it wouldn’t come out with any semblance of strength, but at this point, it didn’t really matter.

“So I am just a body to you?” she whispered it with a heaviness which hung in the air. They both knew this moment was going to change everything. There was no going back from here.

Bryce stared at her steely-eyed and jaw clenched so hard it looked like it might pop. She wasn’t prepared for his next word. She never would be.

“Yes.”

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

[SPOILERS FOR LEO’S ROUTE❗️] okay so i just got to the bit after leo reveals what he is, and mc and comte are talking on the balcony & comte offers to turn her into a vampire if she would like. obviously mc declines but i guess my question is, how do you think leonardo would react if mc DID agree to that offer? i am enjoying his route, but i kinda get the feeling he mostly/only loves mc because she is human :/ im interested abt what might happen if she didn’t say no? thank you v much💖💖ly lots

Aww, ily3 hun tyty 💕💕💕I’ll offer my thoughts below, I hope I can answer your questions to satisfaction! 

Ah yes, the point in Leo's route where I essentially get shot in the leg and limp through my walk of shame

Jk jk, but I think there has been a considerable degree of displeasure associated with Leonardo's line in the proverbial sand. No life with him can be spent as a vampire, MC must remain human. Despite his easygoing nature, he remains stalwart in his opposition no matter what the MC or Comte has to say. To summarize it quickly, Comte’s relieved exasperation at the end of Leo’s MS gets more across than I think any of my analysis can convey “Thank heavens one of you has good sense.” It offers the implication that he has tried to broach the topic with Leonardo out of concern, only to be met by a brick wall--or doesn’t try at all for fear that he’ll only ensconce Leonardo further into rejecting a greater future for him and MC.

As to how he would react I......really don’t think it would go well? Only because I think it would serve to reinforce the rifts that already exist in Leonardo’s self-perception. He would believe it was his own fault for pushing her in that direction, and while I don’t think he would hate Comte, he would definitely become estranged from one of his only close friends in life. (What GUTS ME about Comte offering to turn MC is that he is probably well aware Leo might beat the shit out of him, never talk to him again, or both--and he still fully accepts that he could lose his best friend to guarantee a future for both of them. Excuse me while I bawl in the corner) He probably wouldn’t hold it against Comte for too long, but he wouldn’t be any less aggrieved and hurt. And when Leonardo is vulnerable, he will hide and nurse his wounds until he can behave with some level of calm--or at the very least until he can pretend he’s okay after an initial explosion. He doesn’t feel comfortable troubling people with his own problems, so he tends to fall into silence when personal things come up. This doesn’t necessarily mean he resolves all of his emotional turmoil, or heals that fast; it only means that he wallows in those feelings alone unless they’re tugged out of him and worked through forcibly.

Basically, I see only one of two possibilities coming to fruition. The first is that he and MC would wobble only to completely fall apart if some kind of resolution could never be found. He’d continue to blame himself and start sabotaging his own happiness, and that would likely mean some level of selfishness directed at MC--resulting in anguish for the both of them. If MC takes on too much without complaint or Leonardo goes too far...I get the feeling that relationship would either end in shambles immediately, or result in a kind of twisted union in which both feel responsible for the other’s hurt but neither one can relieve it (until they’d be forced to split up before someone gets seriously hurt). They would be the source of each other’s suffering, so much so that the walls climbing between them might never again lower. 

This might sound odd, but if there’s one thing that Leonardo needs it’s control when it comes to his relationships with others. It is a subtle, but acute trait that might not seem obvious knowing his magnanimous disposition. He decides if MC gets to be a vampire, he bargains with Sebastian because he refuses to be a test subject, he refuses to validate Comte’s conclusions (despite knowing he’s right) because he doesn’t want to cede the power silence/smokescreens offer his emotional vulnerabilities. Even around villains like Shakespeare and the final serial killer, pay close attention. Shakespeare begins revealing deeply personal information and wishes that Leonardo holds close to his heart on purpose, snatching Leonardo’s agency and ability to control how his feelings are being conveyed. How does Leonardo respond? With explosive, forbidding anger--instantaneous and barely contained, nothing at all like his breezy attitude and calm.

If you think about it, it’s a fairly obvious extension of the humiliating powerlessness by which he was raised (he needs to be in control; he needs to be the one who decides who gets to walk away and who doesn’t. He doesn’t come on to MC because he wants to, he does it for the sole purpose of scaring her out of wanting to be a vampire. He doesn’t even attempt to explain where he’s coming from because he falls into whole-scale panic. When he loses control of the trajectory of others--of how they perceive certain things about him--all of his charisma fails him. If he can’t explain or justify where he is mentally, when he’s too afraid they won’t hear him or care, then he needs to redirect the opposing party). Additionally, he feels responsible; that he can better adjust the outcome with his experience--and while that may be true for some things, sometimes he gets ahead of himself. Only an individual can decide their own future and their own happiness, the most others can do is enhance or worsen aspects of life. He doesn’t have enough faith that his presence is positive or worthwhile enough to guarantee his spouse’s happiness ;-;

The other possibility I see is MC coaxing him as best she can into reassurance that she’s happy with her new life. While he may have doubts, there is absolutely room for her to help him approach those fears little by little. If Leonardo has even a hint of doubt in regards to his dismal feelings about her being turned, a potential for acceptance may be nurtured. I don’t think his uncertainty would ever fully vanish; there will always be a lurking fear that a fate tied to his can only mean suffering and disappointment. Prove his worth and compassion with time, and this man will be unable to remember how life was lived before her. It would take a great deal of patience and a sizable obstacle, but it wouldn’t be impossible. His heart is much too big for that, I think.

I don’t think happiness with a turned MC is impossible, only that it would take a lot of work to swing it after a heated moment of decision. I think the way to go with Leonardo is a more enduring effort. He shows much more receptivity after years of being together. I think time, ironically, helps him relax into the possibility of forever as a couple. I think he cannot conceptualize a world in which he is in love, and that this love is not conditional--not dependent on his ability to be the perfect companion, the brilliant inventor, the equanimous mentor. I think he needs to see for himself that love can be gentle and real and whole even when he’s at his worst (by his self-perception). 

Also I put some extra meta under the cut because I have brainworms and just can’t stop thinking about Leonardo rn so read if you like, but it’s more related to why he feels this way abt turning MC than necessarily about the outcome. 

That being said, I'm conflicted because I don't necessarily think Leonardo only loves MC because she's human? (Rather, I think it’s more a result of his history and the values he’s developed in response to that upbringing. But I’ll loop back to this in a bit, so stay tuned)

I say this for two reasons. Firstly, I don't want to say that no person in this period shared his values (I mean look at Comte)--this would be an overstatement, even if it was rare. But it does appear that Comte and Leonardo are acute exceptions within vampire society in elevating human beings to an equal status among vampires (if not a higher status at points or depending on the person). As such, a vampire partner he’d be comfortable living with is unlikely. Human beings are more optimal in some regards (more adaptable and more egalitarian than vampires, most likely), but he also knows that he’s more susceptible to falling in love with a human; so he makes sure to squash his feelings or remove himself when his feelings become too intense. 

Secondly, he's in close quarters with MC by necessity, and reacts to her isolation by virtue of the situation. That's probably half the reason they get together at all; he was fully intending to keep his distance despite his initial curiosity. One thing this signals to me is that even when Leonardo did feel attraction to any person he was in contact with, he would avoid them until they were removed from his presence--or he deflected their romantic approaches enough times for them to give up. With this in mind, it can come as no surprise that Leonardo has kept to himself for nearly five hundred years now. If it was another vampire hitting on him (especially a pureblood), he would be playing into his parents' expectations and would approach the vampire social hierarchy he was working so hard to escape. If they were human, he would deem himself a burden; he could never love them within the normal expectations of a human couple (growing old together, raising a family, etc etc). So ultimately I think it's less her being human, and more their compatibility and context.

As such, I think he just locks himself into a kind of Catch-22? Because in the end I think this is more about his own fears and insecurities--that he can never make someone happy, that he himself will never be enough (hello child of abusive home). Not to oversimplify his character, but one crucial element of his upbringing must be considered if he is to be analyzed properly.

There's something I often think about:

Comte, quoting Leonardo: "‘Not all parents love their children, or even think of them as such.’"  [Though he got away and was able to make a life for himself, he had to do it alone.]

There is. A LOT to unpack here. While we may not have evidence of what his familia is like firsthand, this description tells us...so many heartbreaking things. It tells us that Leonardo never once felt like anything more than a child intended to carry on a legacy. The likelihood that his insights, his feelings, or his entire self-hood were acknowledged is pretty much at a hardcore negative three. While it's been a good number of years since he was the problem child/family disappointment, I feel like so many of those experiences seep into his capacity to properly accept the love of another person. It's a good portion of the reason he struggles so intensely with being loved despite his unfathomable wealth of affection for other people. When a person is diagnosed with unlovable and cringe for having positive feelings for others, it's not really surprising that a person might have trouble accepting a commitment or attraction to another person. There is...a kind of Sisyphus dilemma that surfaces in the wake of that kind of life, a constant push + pull between craving acceptance and either expecting it’s loss and/or fearing it’s disappointment. Though he shows signs of healing from it, there are still portions that linger. (Jean-Paul shakes him from this self-berating in his MS, but after four hundred years he still struggles to overcome those instincts. I wish there were words for the extent to which that knowledge breaks my heart...Many say time heals all wounds, but sometimes I think only others can heal them.)

Keep in mind, I don't think his enduring fallacy that "human beings are the epitome of untainted purpose and vitality" is irrelevant or less problematic here. I just think it's a reflection of a deeper disturbance and loss. It's a reflection of his parents' unilateral rejection of the kinder parts of him; his devotion to patience and understanding. It's a kind of reiteration or what he's already known: he's doing exactly what his parents did in an odd way, he's rejecting vampirism whole-scale despite evidence of both pros and cons (just as it is for humanity). I will always offer that his fear of something going wrong during the change is completely valid--but it does feel more like a fear of admitting that vampires (and eternity for that matter) aren't inherently awful. He ran away from his parents for good reason of course, but for all his running he didn’t escape their black and white logic.

It’s funny too, because his absolutism is kind of reflected in his inability to commit to a single discipline in some ways; while part of it is that he probably exhausts study, I have to wonder how much of him oscillating is a fear of eventual failure. (Think his reaction to MC’s knowledge that he can’t dance, his mortification and utter...shock that she wouldn’t use it as a way to make him feel terrible about himself). He probably prefers to hone his skills helping people because the motivation of providing relief is a much more powerful motivator than knowledge for knowledge’s own sake. He needs the impetus, that drive to move him.

Granted, I won't fault anyone for feeling like Leonardo only loves MC for her humanity. At first glance it really did feel that way! But the more I think about it, the more I feel it has more to do with the weight of his life's experience, and the parts of himself he hasn’t been able to reconcile.

Sometimes, with Leonardo, I urge gentleness. So much of who he is disguises all the ways in which he has been hurt. While his decision is selfish and foolish, it comes from a broken place. My unhappiness will always lie predominantly with the fact that he believes to his core that happiness and self-respect is something he doesn’t deserve. 

[cloveroctobers]

HARRY ZHONG (MITCHELL-WHITE)

IG info/bio: @/heedful.harry | 15.6k followers| hi, I’m Harry and I’m a business major. No, You don’t have to hold your applause 🧐

21 years old

From York, England

Cancer sun + ARIES MOON energy

He and his younger brother, Archie were foster children in the Mitchell-white household

which consisted: Harrison Mitchell and his daughter from a previous marriage, Briony, Piers White and together they had a surrogate carry their child, which gave them their second daughter, Pippa

Later they came to the decision to adopt Harry and Archie Zhong, if only that’s what they wanted too

It took longer for Harry to warm up to the family since he was still waiting and wishing for his mom to come back for them

He was diagnosed with IED around 15 years old

Goes to therapy for it and meetings with others with similar issues...he dreads the meetings since it makes him feel like he has a problem or something, which HE DOES but it makes him feel like a...but he knows that’s a ignorant way to think

He’s currently a business major and loves telling people about it *yawn* (don’t drag me lmao)

He’s thinking he’ll be a Financial analyst or a Marketing manager

The type of person who’s done a lot in his short life that it’s often unbelievable ex.) telling the villa he’s driven one of the cars that was used in the fast and furious franchise & getting pissed when bill and everyone else didn’t believe him

Harrison is a train driver and is normally bubbly + wears bright preppy clothes

He also loves Broadway, much to Harry’s annoyance...if he hears one more Hamilton song he’s gonna slam his head thru a wall stg

Piers is a music producer and is more reserved or “stand-off-ish” until he gets warmed up to you + his aesthetic is a rocker, yeah he’s got the whole tattoos and boots thing going for him, after all he was in a rock band

Piers makes the most $ and is of high status, which brought him and his family perks but is not a snob about it...it’s whatever ya know?

Harry’s closer to piers, feels he understands him more & can be kinda rude to Harrison when he’s in one of his moods but tries to be better at responding to him since he made him cry once years ago — yes he felt like complete shit afterwards

Harry is anemic so he always finds himself cold, experiencing fatigue, irregular heartbeat, and if he gets up too fast or moves too fast? Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the—FLOOO000R! (I’m making this joke as a person with anemia)

Likes cold weather since everyone else can feel what he feels on the daily

Plus he loves dressing for winter season, trench coats, wool coats, turtle necks, thermal t-shirts, fleece pants, rolled up beanies that keeps his ears covered and his hair glued to his forehead...you name it!

On the regular? He’s a khaki’s kinda guy, dress shirts, and loves wearing suit and ties...he’s not the biggest fan of jeans. He loves dressing fancy unless the measurements are bloody awful

I’m going by the alternative design for Harry and...whew! Then he’s 6’1 if we’re talking about the one they gave us then we all know he has a baby face, so I’d say he’s about 5’8

He’s got long legs + arms and hates how majority of his pants barely fit around his ankles

has dry scalp too

I feel like he’s pretty intelligent and sometimes it can come off as a know it all, yet, he’s always down to help people & isn’t condescending while doing so

He knows how to make soaps and would sell them on his etsy account in highschool where plenty shat on him for it so for awhile he stopped the hobby until Harrison encouraged him to keep at this if it was what makes him happy

Harrison is the type of parent you go to for comfort and hugs even if it might feel like he’s smothering you

Piers is the one who lets you come to him when you’re ready to talk about it, no pressure

Harry went to a high school that focused on technology so he’s all into the latest gadgets

This is a secret but he only got a apple watch to feel like a true spy

His intelligence got him somewhere with a few ladies ;)

He’s a certified freak, 7 days a week and had a handful of hookups and about 4 gfs in his life so far

He’s kinky!!!

& has a f**t fetish

His past relationships were not long relationships, which sucked but Harry felt like...this might sound arrogant, but it’s either their lost — although there was never any bad blood with his breakups! or his person was still out there somewhere...

I haven’t fully played his route (AJ stole my ass since I couldn’t romance seb or Nicky sorry) but I’ve seen screen caps and he’s a total sweetie if he’s really committed to you, you might be his “true love”

He’s nervous opposed to his usual confidence when he’s chatting to other ladies with ease, with you it’s different, it’s magnetic, nerve-wrecking, butterflies, electric, and exciting all wrapped in one

I feel like he shows his love language with quality time but also enjoys physical touch from his partner

Picky eater

But he was worst as a child! Barely ate anything which led to him being lanky or it’s in his genes but mostly he wouldn’t eat a damn thing

These are a few of his favorite things: figs, green tea, and almond milk

makes the best spring rolls with the rice paper, those are superior than fried! “Fried food will kill u u know!” “Okay bill.” “Iona, don’t know if u had too much to drink but, erm I’m Harry.” “R/WHOOOOssssh! And you’re s’pposed to be the smart one, yeah right.”

outside of the villa he found himself continuing his friendship with bill—even tho he pisses him off sometimes since he’s always got some shit to say but they’re probably the closest, Iona she’s always honest and is always a good time to be around when they hang out, Then there’s Camilo and Miki that he hangs out with too

Is the first one sharing about his day in the group chat with all of the villa, he can feel half of them rolling their eyes at him since many feel he tends to exaggerate

if he’s not endgame with mc...he kinda feels a way that Genevieve found her happiness in seb instead of him, it’s not that he’s bitter—he genuinely liked her and felt like maybe they didn’t try hard enough but deep down knows relationships can’t be forced. It’s just his ego trying to control things that’s all! plus he was comfortable with vieve even if it felt more on a platonic side...oh well

once slid into jen from s1’s dms one dark stormy drunk night & admitted on live that erikah kinda gave him some tips before going on the show... & that he thought one of the new girls that entered the villa was a better fit than one of the originals from s2 which caused him to get blocked by said original OOP

Has a circle of close friends outside of the villa, they’re all brainiacs and have something going for themselves

Enjoys action films and biographical drama films like: James Bond, John Wick, and the social network

Isn’t ashamed to admit that he loves using sheet face masks but isn’t the greatest at following a consistent skincare routine

Has his own back massager that he spent a lot of $ on since it wouldn’t go on sale and then a week later...it went on sale

sends a lot of “🙃🙂” texts when you piss him off

probably worked at GameStop, the apple store, Godiva, and currently works at a electronic repair shop for a side of cash but is looking for a internship since he’ll be graduating next year

Always Keeps cough drops on him? 

is a huge cuddler & falls asleep easily

His brain is always active, experiences REM sleep often

fav video games are tekken & hitman

owns a drone now 😏

also loves strategic board games & riddles

Took quarantine life seriously, did his research before it completely broke globally and started buying shit excessively in person and online that he sent most to his family before the campus shut down

Is the friend that will check on his friends :)

Keeps his dorm and his room back home CLEAN af, is OCD about everything being in order/organized. Will know if you touched his shit, Archie felt his wrath many times before

Has a life goal board in his closet, & plans to be fully established by 25. More power to ya Harry!

Celeb crushes: Victoria justice, Jesy Nelson, Deepika Padukone, Brec Bassinger, jasmine tookes, and princess Mae

Who does he listen to? oceanfromtheblue, Galimatias, Ta-Ku, Aries, Tyler, the creator, rich Brian, NIKI, viji, & AJR

Anthem = DPR IAN, “So beautiful”

[ranmanjuu]

Can i request an ikesen hc, how would warlords react to a mc which is a physics major like sasuke and since they are both nerdy they spend a lot of time together and talk a lot about theories and all that science stuff. I think they'll get a bit jealous that mc is spending time with sasuke and confused as to ehat they're talking about lol

as stated before i have absolutely no idea of how physics is, much less of being a physics major. so like,,,,,,, all theories are ambiguous. they don’t exist other than that word. what are they talking about? the one who asked knows not more than the asker.

—shingen:

the first time of him seeing you talk with both such seriousness yet a twinkle lights in your eye, he can’t help but a chuckle let through.

“so, has sasuke finally found someone for himself?”

at first he plays up a bit of, “us mortals cannot understand what you’re speaking, my beloved deity, for you speak the language of the gods!” (”but sasuke can understand them though—”)

would absolutely, and constantly tease you for anything and everything. you could be talking about the inner workings of geophysics with sasuke and you’d hear the faint sound of wiggling eyebrows and metaphorical saxophone playing.

but of course, this won’t stop shingen from trying to win you over.

he does it his own style, the classical flirting with his sexy stature. yet, you always quip back in the jargon language he knows nothing about—and his several seconds of confoundment proves to be a good strategy as you flee the scene.

prior to you telling him that you were from the future, he did find it suspicious how you have so, so many “things that came from your hometown” that was painfully specific. and he’s shingen takeda, he’s known for being well-informed, so why hadn’t he heard of this before? some villages have their own tradition, yes, but it’s usually not enough to write at least twenty dictionaries about.

and even if he wants to find it, where would he go? the only two people who’ve learnt it are you and sasuke.

although he begins to pick up basic things whenever you talk to either him or the ninja. just small references that a high schooler can pick up.

for the sake of it, shingen’d probably try to do a physics pick-up line on you. but due to the lack of knowledge he has, it ends up with you on the floor laughing until you’re clenching your sides.

you can’t help it! it’s so wrong on so many levels it’s insanely hilarious while also painful.

after the laughter dies down, shingen takes it upon himself and pins you to the wall, his sultry eyes burning into yours, “well, it seems my goddess can do a bit of fixing on those, hm? please, my muse, do demonstrate how you do it properly.”

—kenshin:

(honorable mention hc: if you ever use terminology before the affectionate part of him comes in he’ll practically frown at you in deep confusion, “what are you talking about, you fool?”)

if his ninja had met you before he did, he probably wouldn’t have much of a problem. sasuke talks to someone, all he does is frown and just doesn’t care. but hoo boy you managed to slither into his heart without him even noticing it.

he’s just looking around the market for you, until he sees the sight of you chattering so brightly and passionately,,, with sasuke.

phase one: pouty mode. it lasts only for a few second, but his lips form a very strong scowl as it processes in his mind.

(phase one and a half: it’s where he glances at you and notice how you twinkle so brightly in his eyes—like a star beaming at him. except it isn’t at him. and so this honorary phase ends)

phase two: in a split second of his braincells barely managing together, he unsheathes his sword and begins to fish sasuke away from you. (”let’s duel, sasuke.”  /  “i’m afraid i was having a conversation with—”  /  “fight or i kill you this second.”)

phase three: usually it’s where you pull him away and lightly scold him, thus ending his bloodlust.

phase four: usually happens after the other party has left. pouty mode two: electric boogaloo; as he sulks like a child in envy and jealousy and you’re forced to cuddle with him and give him lots of kisses so he Functions properl after that.

of course, you can’t just let it repeat. you had a talk after some time, entailing that, kenshin, please stop chasing your vassals because they say one (1) word to me. with a lot of grumbling and reluctance, he agrees to it.

it won’t stop his lips forming into a scowl at the sight of it though.

he curses the oldened knowledge of the sengoku—he wanted you to talk to him about those big brained things. but alas, there wasn’t much he could do.

(”no, kenshin, you can’t go to the future just cause you wanna learn everything i learnt! the wormhole is gone and it takes at least 4 years—”)

—yukimura:

yukimura meets you the second time while talking to sasuke down in the market. and the decision to rebrand you from a wild boar to a witch casting spells were made in the flick of a second, just like that.

“hey, are you trying to hex my fried, enchantress?!”  /  “yukimura, they’re a friend from my hometown, it’s alright.”  /  “oh.”

as he says, a friend of sasuke is a friend of his! though he still doesn’t understand at all each time you make a physics reference, and still isn’t partly convinced you at least know an ancient language.

he doesn’t exactly buy into the whole ‘hometown-specific’ thing either, but hey. it’s sasuke and you, if you’re lying, he thinks, he’ll let you tell him in your own time.

but in the meantime, the fact you know terminology to references he doesn’t understand makes your daily bickering a lot funnier. what’s an atom and is his brain really smaller than that as you said? fun thing is he’ll probably never know if you and sasuke withhold such information.

if he ever sees you experimenting with something to examine the components, as long as it isn’t dangerous, he’d look at you in mild amusement and confusion, “what are you doing, silly?”

but if it dangerous (like guns, fireworks, etc.) he scolds you with a scowl, one born from pure worry.

once you two got together, you started going to dorky science puns. once again, yukimura doesn’t understand it, but the stupid grin you have on your face is just enough for him.

(he does ask sasuke about it later, resulting in a bright faced yuki, muttering a small “idiot,,” under his breath.)

—sasuke:

the moment you saw him at honno-ji, present day, you felt there was something familiar to him. like it’s a face you’ve passed through in the bustling streets. and the moment you saw his lab coat, you just assumed he somewhat came from the same college as you.

and just after he corrected you referring to him as “that college student” being an astrophysicist, your eyes brightened a thousand times, but tried to stifle it considering you were more or less being chased. 

you listened into his explanation of the wormhole closely, processing each word in fascination and curiosity. you had enough experience to know what he’s talking about—and it gave you so much euphoria from just simply listening in.

you hope to meet him again as he disappears in the shadows.

you do, to your delight. the very first day you went out to town, you encountered him at a stall. conversation immediately took off once you re-mentioned his degree, along with yours. from there, the wormhole was the center topic again, mostly talking about how he found where it would be and when it would be. you’d never heard of such a research back then.

and slowly, you grow an admiration to sasuke’s high intelligence. all the research he’s done, he’ll definitely show a fellow enthusiast, and you’re practically beaming at the chance.

so much so that you don’t notice the weirdened stares of the ones around you.

there nights when you’d sneak into his room just to ask him about something, or propose to him a theory since he’s the only person who’d get it.

and on some sleepless nights, you find yourself lying about with sasuke beneath the stars, peering into his telescope once in a while and geeking out about the small dots in the sky.

a part of you wished you met him sooner—but you feel like you couldn’t ever ask for more.

—yoshimoto:

truth be told, he didn’t care much at first.

his somewhat apathy towards people and more towards art becomes just ever so slightly apparent; as he lets you rant your heart out to sasuke while he admires some cloth in the background. you have your preferred friends, it isn’t his place to be opposed to it.

well, that’s what he thought of it—until you slowly got closer to him.

through talks of art and the different medias from your “hometown”, he learnt more and more about you. and his heart grew fonder and fonder.

until—for whatever reason—he found himself,,, feeling some kind of upset by the sight of you talking to sasuke so brightly like that? it’s like a part of him doesn’t sit well with it.

while he isn’t quite sure what he’s feeling, he’ll try to fish you away regardless. his good looks aren’t for nothing, even still having its charming effects on you.

putting up somewhat of an airheaded act, he mindlessly pulls you out of the conversation to look at some beautiful fabric, catching you off-guard for a moment. if you try to mention your talk with sasuke, it’s as if he doesn’t hear it as he whisks you off to another store. and another, another—until you’ve gotten some distance from the ninja.

even with all that effort, he doesn’t think much into the feeling inside his heart. what then felt like a storm, was now a welcoming, warm spring breeze in him.

he’ll figure it out, one day.

[unmotivated-cosmere-nerd]

Why Worm is the Perfect Gateway from YA to Fantasy/Sci-fi

I’m going to start off by saying I first read worm when I was 14 and while I thought it was cool I didn’t read past the leviathan arc and I didn’t go back until I was 17 where I started reading it again and loved every second of it. There’s a reason for this, I think, and because worms start off as a YA thing before becoming so much more with a solid foundation.

I was originally going to make a post that basically said: “Hot take: The thing that stops worm from being YA is the fact that characters “Good or Badness” is not determined by whether they agree with the main character or not” but its more than that and so I’m Going to make this post.

1. It starts off as a YA

Worm begins by giving the reader a lot of YA tropes, bullied at school, oppressive system, having a secret you are keeping from the rest of the group, Hypocritical authority figures(I’m coming back to this one), Not being handsome or pretty, Low Self-esteem, Characters called bad by the system being cool or secretly good and misunderstood(Coming back to this as well).

These tropes work because a lot of young adults see themselves in these charters because a lot of people feel like outsiders in these years see themselves as misunderstood and it's great, I'm not disparaging YA but YA isn’t made to challenge a reader (past Levi I felt legitimate anxiety reading Worm) it's made to entertain a reader and it does that by making truly care about characters. However, in Worm, it makes a character based off of those tropes and that is Taylor this doesn't mean much till we get past Levi but it is noticeable on rereads where you see her go out un-ready because, as it seems to me, she wants to go down in a blaze of glory, not some heroic ideal

Point is Worm starts off by being really appealing to YA readers.

2. Levi Arc / A break from YA / Violence in YA

Worms Un-YA-vacation actually starts a chapter before Levi. This is the point where a YA begins its conclusion, Threats have been faced they have grown together as a team and think they've got through the worst of it, now the true villain is revealed, there's a betrayal a twist happens and the heroes rally to prove themselves over whatever weird morality the villain has(Coming back to this as well)

In Worm, the Twist is Dinah Alcott, however, there is no betrayal, no secret villain, just villains doing villain things, only now Taylor (and by extension the reader) sees the victims to her crimes and the secret villain was Taylor. At this point, Tayor and her friends would come together and save Dinah and prove they were the real good guys all along except they don't the rest of the Undersiders are ok with it and that's a big break from YA plot. The character and her friends are supposed to be, unless they were deceiving the protagonist, “good.” Taylor freaks and runs but before we can deal with that (and we will) Levi attacks.

These days a lot of YA is “edgy” but that death is used for a reason, A Lot of times you'll hear something like “All these people died except him” or “She’s an elite assassin who killed all these people” another use of death in YA is to set stakes killing a whole bunch of named characters during the aforementioned betrayal to set stakes or to cause a character to unlock a new ability through grief. In either scenario, the Protag either avenges these deaths or is a main player in a battle the protagonist. In Worm, Taylor plays damage control, takes a stab and leviathan and Phoom! Broken spine. She is insignificant and that made me so afraid that I'd hear the words “Grue - deceased” that I put down the book for three years. It's real and it's scary.

Violence and Death aren’t trivialised or given lip service, it's real, it's respected and it's a theme and it makes you take it seriously. Fighting stops seeming cool.

3.Ensamble and Morality.

In my mind, you can split a YA protag into two types: A brave idealist in a world of cruel realists or in more edgy YA smart realist in a world where others are idiotic Idealists, in either the protags world view is the right one. Now It's hardly a groundbreaking idea that Taylor isn’t justified in doing bad things but I'm going to address how this idea is given to the audience.

I think it's fair to describe Taylor as a member of group two, In her mind, she's doing what should be done whilst her antagonists are trying to uphold a system that does not work, at least as far as she thinks. In a YA this would make those who are on her side good and those who oppose her bad, that's not the case in the Worm. A lot of the Undersiders are arguably bad people; they aren’t sanitised. More so the people who oppose Taylor are legitimately heroic and you know this because you got to see through the eyes of the BB Wards and you know they aren’t fake. You buy into the idea of them being Heros which makes you question it when Taylor opposes them but more so you feel conflicted. In YA you might feel bad for the antagonist who had a sad backstory which is why they are doing a “bad” thing but you don't in Worm (Because those are our protagonists) instead you're conflicted because the antagonist has a Solid argument for why they oppose Taylor that can’t be written off.

Basically, a YA would decide a character's Morality by whether they are on Taylor's side or not and worm takes a good look and subverts that specific trope in a way that's hard to ignore

It's worth noting that whilst other fantasy/sci-fi novels don’t really work with these tropes Worm takes them and morphs them to a point where you the reader become conflicted and unsure on what you think about Taylor by using established YA tropes you would only really buy into if you read a lot of YA (Which I did)

4. Fighting the System

The idea of an oppressive system and unfair authority is a big theme in YA and that's because it's relatable. Here's a quick sketch of a regime in YA it's full of hypocrites(Armsmaster) and Unfair and Malicious leaders who are either incapable if the MC is a realist or too brutal if the MC is an idealist (Alexandria and Eidolon) and when the organization is overturned (normally by the protag) the good members(Miss Militia, Chevalier, Legend) come into control and say that the MC was right the whole time and change their policies to suit the MC.

There's a problem however both Taylor and the System are Realists and Utilitarians, they have the same moral code. Not a new idea, but it challenges that specific Idea of what an Antagonistic organization is supposed to be.

The Hypocrite (Armsmaster) takes stock, and in a YA would realize he's been criticizing the MC for doing the same stuff he is and then stop criticizing and supporting the MC, but here he takes a good look at himself realizes he's been a hypocrite and changes his behaviour! Armsmaster straight up criticizes the way he behaves in the past, becomes a better person and that makes him even more of an antagonist for Taylor which makes you question her even more.

Finally, When The good guys get in charge of the organization they remain Taylors antagonists Chev and MM still have an issue with the way Taylor operates and tell her if she doesn't comply she gets prison

5.Conclusion

I used to read a lot of YA back in the and I think it's worth noting Worms interaction with YA because it takes YA tropes and dynamics that someone who reads YA automatically assumes and then twists them breaking your assumed ideas about things in a way that makes you question things. And the reason I think this is important is because as I said Earlier YA exists to entertain it is safe, comfortable and fun. But Literature can be more engaging if you want it to be.

The best works of Fantasy/ Sci-fi Drag of those comfort zones. The Way of Kings makes you think about coping with depression and dealing with systems that keep the disadvantaged and exploited docile, I-Robot makes you question what defines personhood, except those works can be daunting. Worm takes a YA reader and gives them what they want for a bit until things start to descend into the groundwork of morality and make you look at it. In a YA novel, utilitarianism and trauma would be character traits used to define a character. In Worm you are forced to question it, to examine it and then come to your own decision, yes the world was ultimately saved through utilitarianism but it could have been done better. Trauma was weaponized, but it was a trauma Taylor had too.

When I reached the end of Worm, I found that YA just wasn't as engaging, and I went looking for a book that felt more real and had real themes, stuff that Worm showed me and that's why I think is a great gateway into Fantasy and Sci-Fi

[astrologysvt]

Chart First Impressions - Vernon

For more SVT astrology posts, follow my blog! Check out my masterlist to see all the readings I’ve done so far and what I’ve got coming up! 💫

This is just a very general reading of the member’s charts — the parts that popped out to me, things I personally liked, things I thought were interesting or contrary to the image I have of them. I’m not looking at anything in particular with each reading. Some of their readings may be more aspect focused, where some may just focus solely on their personal planets and their signs. If you have any questions on specific aspects or want to request a more specific reading, feel free to send me an ask!

two aquarians down, one more to go. 

so i do feel the need to explain why i’m not here arguing why i think vernon or even dk may be either a pisces/aquarius sun.

(tho tbh if either of them were to lean towards pisces, i think it’d be vernon). 

but really for me it just comes down to the fact they feel very clearly aquarian.

with woozi, his energies were a lot more vague/muddled and harder to organize where as it’s a lot simpler and cleaner a break with these two aqua/pisces cusps. 

generally, aqua and pisces influences feel very different to me. 

for me to consider them more pisces, i would be looking for them to appear much more yielding within a group and i don’t get that sense.

i’d also be looking for a certain degree of people-pleasing, or at least a strong courtesy towards how they contribute to the room’s energy. an aqua wouldn’t be as conscientious of this. they may be aware of it, but they wont let themselves be inhibited by it. where as a pisces would be hyper aware of this and very cautious. 

not only that, but i’m not looking charts that would be void of explanation on either sign/element’s influence if they leaned either way. 

woozi had no other scorpio in his chart if his sun wasn’t in scorpio.

where as with vernon, regardless of whether he’s an aqua or pisces sun, he’s still got a strong aqua and pisces influence in his chart to begin with so his reading wouldn’t be drastically different if he turned out to be a pisces sun. 

similar with dk, where as his cancer influence in tandem with his aqua and libra would make it so the rest of his reading wouldn’t be horribly compromised. 

if either one of them were to end up being a pisces sun, my reading of them would still be very similar just reorganized.

where as with jihoon, it was an entirely different story. 

so it’s a mixture of pisces and aquas being a lot easier to differentiate than sag/scorpio, and also their charts having both influences in their other personal planets that i’m not too stressed about figuring their suns out. 

but lets focus back on vernon. 

his sun and mercury is in aqua. 

i think vernon exemplifies exactly what i expect with an aquarius — like picture perfect artsy-brand aquarius. 

his style (for one) has been so clearly created by him without any regard with what everyone else is doing. 

and i think this is an important distinction to make with aquarians. 

a lot of people like to think that aquarians like to be contrary for the sake of being contrary, and tbh i do know enough aquarians to know that sometimes that IS the case (but i dunno i think they just like messing with me) 

but i do genuinely believe that when it comes to art and their work, the stuff that they do is genuinely so unique and out there because that’s just how their mind’s work. 

for example, if you’re looking at a painting you’re generally going to focus on the focal points of them. the subject, the name of the painting, the artist, maybe context if ur interested. you’re going to take the evidence given to you to try and form a linear narrative. you’re going to focus on what you think the painter wants you to notice. 

whereas an aquarius is naturally drawn elsewhere, maybe the background. maybe they’re noticing how it looks with the other paintings around it, or how the light is hitting it. maybe their placing the painting in a wild alternative universe and creating a story around it. 

they’re less concerned with building a narrative around what the painter is trying to show, and is more concerned with finding new, uncovered things about it. 

and that’s kinda a very vague glimpse into how aquarians build these crazy alternative worlds and perspectives they live in. 

aquarians are a very progressive sign, this is certainly because they have a strong set of principles that lean very humanitarian. 

but it’s also because they simply hate whatever may threaten one’s ability to exert autonomy over themselves, their expression, and how people perceive/treat them. 

whether it’s them personally, or generally, or symbolically. 

i don’t think it’s a direct correlation (like he thinks this way because he’s an aquarian) but when he was on happy together and they were talking about how his korean was very good and he was like “i mean, i AM korean.” 

this is a very aquarian thing to want to blur the lines, and encourage people around them too approach these potentially hard to understand concepts simply and a matter-of-factly. 

(tho i think in this specific instance he was really just combating the perception that he was more foreign to the MCs than he actually was).

anyway, back to aquas being lovable weirdos. 

i like to think that the many ways aquas like to present themselves isn’t just for show/for the sake of being different. 

sometimes it certainly takes a very physical/in your face form such as with fashion, but i like to think that they dress and act the way they do because they like being in the state of opposition and friction. 

by having this imagine of themselves reflected back to them in how drastically different the other side is, that is something that both gives them excitement as well as a sense of comfort through purpose and identity. 

they like sticking out because it’s a declaration of their character. 

not only that, but they love the ease of just doing what they want without having to think or feel the weight of “what is everyone else going to think?” 

that freedom is very important to them. 

how interesting is it tho that we’ve got two aqua suns with water moons?? 

vernon’s scorpio moon is gonna be VERY different from dk’s cancer moon. 

as social as an aqua can be in concept, they can really and honestly go either way. 

either they are the popular kid whose in every extracurricular and is student council president, or they’re the kid sitting in the corner who just doodles all day in class. 

you throw in a scorpio moon and it really makes him a pretty solitary guy. 

extreme lone wolf vibes. 

he likes being by himself, and it’s partially cuz the world is loud and his mind is entertaining in and of itself, and partially him being an incredibly independent and self-sufficient person. 

he’s got the least social chart in all of seventeen, and any anti-social behaviors he may have simply come from the fact that looking outwards to others is not in his immediate logic. 

it’s not in his muscle memory. 

if he gets excited about a project, he’s probably going to lock himself up in his room and burry himself in it, as opposed to getting others involved.

“i need to get something? great i can leave right now.”

he doesn’t think to ask others if they wanna go because they aren’t a part of his immediate checklist that’s integral to his day/wellbeing. 

his energies churn inwardly, and this is also why you find him just sitting around staring into space. 

not because he doesn’t want to talk to people or doesn’t care about people, but because he’s very comfortable living in his mind and simply doesn’t care to experiment too much with his immediate effect on the world around him. 

you take someone like jun who has so much energy bubbling in him, he can’t help but start doing things just to see what will happen and how people will react. 

vernon may have a similar curiosity, but it’s much more imaginative, abstract, and isolated. he can play out those scenarios in his mind. 

and this has many facets to it: his aqua influence makes him inventive and original in his thoughts where he as absolutely no shortage of daydream material. you throw in that pisces mars that is half daydreaming all the time, and that scorpio moon that makes him very intentionally reserved/independent and you’ve got vernon. 

so vernon’s scorpio moon is everything we’ve talked about before about water moons: empathetic, intuitive, sensitive. 

i think his scorpio moon is more interesting because of the darkness that a scorpio influence implies. 

there’s a alarming depth from where his emotions rise from, which is surprising considering how chill he seems outwardly. 

when it comes to his emotions, whatever it is, he wants them unabashed and unfiltered. no shame whatsoever. 

this is due to his scorpio influence’s desire for authenticity, but also his aqua influence’s deep dislike for the superficial. 

this would make him very discerning and generally pretty good at knowing when someone is trying to manipulate him, though his pisces mars may confuse him here and there. 

he’d really be great for any deep, wild, out-there, maybe even taboo conversations you may wanna have. 

pretty much anything would be on the table.

this is because his aqua influence would be prepared to entertain anything and everything, and is equally prepared take it seriously as you do.  

while his scorpio moon isn’t particularly afraid of whatever you may bring up, and is pretty attracted to the more out-there topics. 

it’d honestly just take a lot to really freak him out, and he’s really just open/excited to entertain any random idea you may have. 

even if he reacts viscerally or even negatively, he’s still very slow to write something off. 

his scorpio moon is sextile his cap venus

this softens his chart up a little bit, may mellow out his out-there qualities and give him a greater appreciation for more classy & romantic things. 

this makes him more fluid in his interactions with people than his forthright aqua and unyielding scorpio may connote. 

wonwoo has this same aspect, too, actually. 

this would make him much more dynamic and flexible in how he expresses/receives affection. 

would certainly also make him a lot more dedicated and stable in relationships than a aqua/pisces influence may imply where normally aqua wants independence and pisces may not be as present. 

then you also have his scoprio moon trine pisces mars.

this is the aspect that really turns this chart upside down on it’s head imo. 

aqua, scorpio, cap? they sound ready to fight at the drop of the hat. 

but you have water meeting water in this trine, and this very seamless exchange of energies between emotion and action really turns him into this amazing peace-keeper because of how level-headed it makes him.

i think i remember they were talking in svt club about how vernon never gets angry, and if he gets angry it’s probably because other people are fighting and he’s like. 

“i don’t get this. why?” 

this is because he really doesn’t understand how people can get so swept by emotion that they’d start arguing with each other. 

and he feels this way because, with a harmonious aspect between moon and mars, energy flows through him incredibly smoothy and easily. 

good, bad, sad, excited. all that fun stuff flows through him and doesn’t experience much of a road block, and so with that he’s not only very familiar with the passing of these emotions, but he’s able to process and regulate them pretty easily without trying. 

this would make him that excitable, expressive, reactive vernon we know and love because the emotions just flow through him. 

but this would also mean that, because of that, he understands how to ride the waves of his emotions so that they don’t end up sweeping him in their undercurrent. 

so when people do get into these heated arguments, he struggles to understand why they’d handle it in certain ways. 

with that being said, he does have his moon square mercury which means he isn’t the BEST at communicating his thoughts on this matter. 

he wants to so badly to put everything he feels into comprehensible words and concepts because of his aqua mercury. 

but that aqua mercury may make his viewing/expression too far reaching to understand, while his scorpio moon may make his emotions hard to grasp and translate in the first place. 

at the end of the day, his way of thinking is far too intuitive and abstract to put into words. 

so, lmao, don’t invite him to mediate ur next fight. he’ll probs just confuse you both. 

but if you need someone to chill with to cool you off and calm you down? he’s great because all that water turns him into this fantastic shock-absorber, and as i said before, his aqua/scorpio means that almost anything is on the table. 

the last thing i’ll talk about is his pisces mars! 

he’s a gentle, gentle boy. 

if it wasn’t obvious enough already, there really isn’t a single angry bone in his body (that’s an exaggeration, we’re all capable of anger). 

but he has such a gentle approach to life thanks to this pisces mars, and he goes about this with such sincerity and it’s so unfiltered and out there that you can’t help but appreciate how earnest he is, no matter how weird at the same time. 

this would also turn his aquarian interest in a much more creative direction.

i know he said he can’t draw, but he has such a strong knack for creative thinking with that unique aqua and his pisces mars giving him a very fluid means of expression and deep understanding of artistic nuance. 

everything he does, even if he’s not particularly good at, will have his signature stamp because he has such a great outlet for him to express his super strong, aquarian sense of self. 

(and that, in and of itself, is an artistic feat). 

super empathetic, a lot more emotional than he lets on. 

but again, due to his moon’s harmonious aspects, even with all that deadpan and logical aqua, emotions are never ultra-abrasive to him so it’s genuinely really hard to catch an extreme emotion out of him unless he’s in a negative place generally.

he just gets emotions, and if he doesn’t understand them immediately he knows how to sit with them and live in them. 

a very healing person to be around. 

[chaosstar290]

Reasons try out Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore.

Nintendo's been pretty casual with porting Wii U games over to the Switch, and for good reasons. Normally, I'm not all into porting games that I've already played, but my personal favorite games on the system that lack good marketing and advertising are now getting the attention and love they deserve.

Take Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for example, one of my favorite 2D platfomers. The game originally sold 1.72 million copies worldwide on the Wii U. Not very good numbers, huh? However, the Switch port managed to beat those sales numbers with 2.25 million units sold worldwide by the end of March 2019.

So while this could be seen as a way for Big N to earn more $$$, this is also a way for those who never owned a Wii U and missed out on some of the system's best titles to give these games a shot. Now we just need a port of Xenoblade Chronicles X and The Wonderful 101...and Star Fox Zero, I guess.

But that's a topic for another time. This post is specifically for my favorite JRPG on the Wii U only to be tied with Xenoblade Chronicles X....Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.

This'll be a long one, so here's hoping you'll stick with it until the end.

Development

Before I get into the reasons, lemme educate you guys a bit. Back in January 2013, both Atlus and Intelligent Systems made a teaser trailer for a potential Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem crossover for the Wii U.

The trailer was mostly just a slideshow with various character artwork. Despite this, there was a decent amount of hype surrounding it. But development around the game was pretty silent. That is, until we fast forward to the Nintendo Direct in April 1, 2015. We got a trailer of the ambitious SMT x FE crossover that fans were waiting for...but this was the final product.

Needless to say...neither SMT nor FE fans were happy about this. The fandoms were incredibly salty and foaming at the mouths, basically calling it a Person 4 Lite with a hint of FE. Heck, they're probably still posts on this site from 5 years ago that'll show that.

Fast forward to the games initial release, and you'll see quite a few positive reviews and thoughts about TMS. Unfortunately, the sale numbers were not all that great for the game. Obvious reasons being that it was a Wii U game, and many fans of both SMT x FE were not happy with how it turned out.

And to be honest, I wasn't feeling the game myself at first. It seemed too lighthearted and upbeat, and the J-Pop, anime-ish aesthetics were very off-putting. However, the more I saw about the game, the more I was drawn into it. Somehow all that disappointment I had about TMS originally just washed away. And considering it was a new IP, I decided to give it a chance. And hoo boy...I was generally pleased.

With that outta the way, let's get into why I'm excited for the Switch port of game, and hoping people will give it a fairer chance.

The Setting

The plot of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is mostly simple. You start out as high schooler Itsuki Aoi, the main character of the game encountering his childhood friend Tsubasa Oribe at an audition event to become a idol. It isn't until moments later in the game that the area gets overruned by shadowy creatures known as Mirages that suck out the creative energy known as Perso-- ah I mean Performa from the other idols and audience.

Poor girl doesn't know what's gonna happen next.

Despite our main characters seeming unharmed by the effect, the Mirages drag Tsubasa into their world known as the Idolsphere. And of course, courageous Itsuki takes action to follow and rescue her.

After trying to make a daring rescue, Itsuki gets bombarded by a Mirage, but somehow manages to awaken it. Taking the form of Fire Emblem Awakening's protagonist Chrom. Itsuki does the same with the Mirage that captured Tsubasa that takes the form of Cedea from Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon. The two awakaned Mirages, however, suffer from a bit of amnesia and can't quite remember who and what they are.

From there on, Itsuki and Tsubasa form a partnership with Chrom and Cedea, encountering various characters trying to reach their way to stardom while trying to draw back the opposing forces from taking over Tokyo and the world. Typical RPG stuff, am I right?

It's a fairly standard and slightly cliche plot with some common anime tropes, but for this game...it works. It's a plot that's incredibly silly, upbeat, and over-the-top, but again...it works for this game. And I love it. It may not be original, deep, or complex, but the story does its best to not take itself too seriously, and it doesn't fail to keep a smile in my face.

Aside from the vanilla cookie-cutter MC Itsuki, the various casts that you meet are incredibly charming, and go through their own personal growth as celebrities. Though you mileage may vary on this.

The Gameplay

The combat is the real star of Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Basically, it's your standard turn-based combat system...but with a few twists. If you've ever played a SMT or Persona game, then don't be surprised that elemental weaknesses make an appearance here. Along with that, the Triangle Weapon system from Fire Emblem also makes an appearance in the game.

But if you're not familiar with either franchise then give you a basic example how this works. Say that you've encountered an armored Mirage wielding an axe. The weaknesses on that enemy are both lightning and swords, and Itsuki just so happens to have both the necessary element and weapon equipped.

In case you're wondering...how the Triangle Weapon mechanic works in FE is that Swords beat Axes, Axes beat Lances, and Lances beat Swords.

The interesting thing about this is that once you exploit an enemy's weakness, other characters will jump in and combo extra attacks. These are called Sessions, and their not only powerful...but also flashy as all hell and it's glorious. Not only that, but there's also Duo Arts where two certain characters will sometimes perform a song that unleashes a powerful attack...which also strings up more Sessions. As broken as this sounds, it actually is pretty strategic for taking down harder enemies, and they can also form Sessions...so be careful.

There's more to the gameplay like roaming Tokyo, exploring dungeons, and upgrading your characters and Mirages by Tiki from Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon as well.

There's mixed opinions on the dungeon aspects of Tokyo Mirage Sessions, but...I personally enjoyed them. Aside from the first one. Once you get past the first dungeon, they get better as the game progresses. From exploring a darker version of Shibuya where you have to avoid giant cameras from sending you back to the entrance of the of the room you currently entered, to venturing through a maze-like TV studio.

There's also side-missions that you can do with your main cast that'll help them grow and develop even further. You'll be rewarded with either a special cutscene or a special attack. Or maybe both.

The Visuals

Go go...Persona Rangers?

If it wasn't obvious from the amount of images I'm posting, Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a very colorful game. Fitting with it's lighthearted theme, the amount of colors the game throws at you makes visuals aesthetically pleasing. Heck, you could make these your personal wallpaper on your phone or something.

Sure, Tokyo Mirage Sessions isn't nearly as strong as Persona 5 graphically or even artistically, but like most Nintendo games...what their games lack in terms of detailed ultra-hyper graphics, they make up for it with giving their games gorgeous artstyles.

Also, this game has some reeeeeally good artwork.

The Music

J-Pop plays a pretty big role in Tokyo Mirage Sessions, so expect a lot of vocal tracks. If you're not into this kind of genre of music, then you might wanna stray away from this game. If you are (or if it doesn't bother you), then you're in for a treat. As someone who really isn't into J-Pop myself, the songs in this game are incredible and catchy followed by some beautiful cutscenes. Reincarnation from Kiria Kurono and Feel from Tsubasa Oribe are some of my personal favorites.

The music from outside the vocal tracks are pretty good too. The normal battle theme and the Illusion Shibuya dungeon theme are just to name a couple.

What's New?

Like I said before, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is a port of the Wii U version, but with added content. Any DLC that was added in the original game will part of the base game in the Switch version. But let's talk about the new stuff.

EX Story and Songs

The EX Story is basically a dungeon that you explore in short bursts. Here you'll find new costumes such as a Joker outfit from Persona 5 for Itsuki, or an Annette outfit from Fire Emblem Three Houses for Mamori Minamoto. Or you can have a much easier time grinding for EXP. Also, much like the side-stories, this dungeon will also explore the main casts' issues and help them grow.

New songs will also be added in this port. A duo song called "She is..." sung by Tsubasa and Kiria is one of them.

Sessions

By making Sessions even more powerful and ridiculous, unplayable characters like Tiki, Maiko Shimazaki, and Barry Goodman will also join in Sessions.

In addition, a Quick Session option will be added. Which is a major upgrade in my book. One of the big issues the Wii U version had was while the Sessions were fun to watch, they took forever to get through with the more characters that joined your party. There are also smaller improvements like the Switch version having faster loading times.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this long as hell post will spark some interest into those who'll give the game a shot. I know there's small nitpicks like the lack of English voice acting and censorship, but the latter is a topic I'd rather not delve deep into.

Regardless, these small cons are greatly outweighed by the large pros this charming game has. If you're an Atlus fan, a lover of JRPGs, or wanting to play something that'll ease the wait for Persona 5 Royal, I highly recommend you give Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE encore a shot.

If you're also waiting for Persona 5 to actually come to the Switch like me, this game is next best thing we've got for the time being.

This is one of the most stylish menu screens ever.

[miraculouscontent]

Thoughts on Reflekdoll?

This episode is… strange.

Like, first things first: I know I don’t usually comment on the animation quality, but the animation in this episode is… different? I don’t want to say it’s bad, but it’s really noticeable. I think it feels as if the animators are trying to keep the characters constantly in motion, but some of the turns/twists are just a few frames off from where they should be. It’s a bit distracting compared to all the other episodes.

Honestly, it almost feels like some sort of edited back-door pilot to a spin-off series where they decided to switch miraculouses permanently, hence the animation being so different.

Anyway though, onto the real content of the episode.

…Actually, before I get into that, I just wanna say–

[LUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]

LUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

That is all.

[Scraptain Obvious]

I don’t really like the lead-in here. I understand that Ladybug and Chat Noir are going to switch miraculouses, so they’re trying to set up a “they talk about each other’s traits/qualifications for the miraculouses” thing, but it feels really forced. Most swap episodes in shows are very predictable/obvious in how they go about things, and this is no different. While I like the twist that Marinette finds the cat to be “easy”, meaning it’s actually only half the struggle one would expect, the road to getting there is too blatant, mostly because of the word choice.

Reflekta even worsens this by talking about people being in her shoes. Not only do Reflekta’s power have nothing to do with the swap itself (I know that the reason they get swapped is because of Reflekta, but that’s not what I mean), but it’s a ridiculous attempt at tying together the akuma to the conversation that Ladybug and Chat Noir were having. It’s simply not needed.

Like, I get it, episode. You’re doing a thing and you’re not even remotely subtle about it. Can we please move on?

Then there’s exactly how this plot happens, and I simply do not believe that Marinette would take off her earrings that easily. Not only did the outfits she and Adrien wore have pockets (because I understand Adrien taking the ring off since I presume he was supposed to match Marinette exactly), but when even Plagg is telling Adrien that taking the ring off is a dumb idea, it starts to feel like the episode is waving a flag in front of my face while screaming, “THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES TO THIS.”

I also don’t buy Plagg and Tikki hearing none of the fight going on until the car they’re in gets flung into the air. Like, they didn’t even phase out of the trunk to see how things were going? I’d expect at least Tikki to keep an eye out just in case, especially if they were both so worried about the miraculouses being removed.

There are other things too, like Mayura’s comment about how the swapped heroes are struggling (which is not only cliche for standard swap plots but makes no sense considering that Marinette wasn’t struggling very much at all), but they’re relatively brief at least, I guess.

Speaking of Mayura–

[Ruffled Feathers]

Mayura’s introduction to the episode is good… enough. The concept of her sentimonster is relayed to where I didn’t have too many questions about it (as opposed to having many during “Miraculer”). I’m glad that Marinette had to explain it to Adrien just because it confirms that Marinette has a lot more information than Adrien does.

I also like the SWISH of Mayura’s fancy peacock dress during her transformation, but that’s not relevant to the episode, so it will get no SWISH points from me.

I mean, granted, this makes “Miraculer” even weirder considering that this doesn’t show the transition between Nathalie feeling sick over the peacock miraculous and then just being able to move around without concern (is this gonna be established in a later episode somehow?), but that’s technically not this episode’s fault so whatever, I’ll chalk that up to a “Miraculer” complaint.

I think the other weird thing about it is that Nathalie is standing behind Hawk Moth when he goes to send his akuma. I don’t know if he just sensed that it was Juleka again and wanted to take advantage of that so he told Nathalie to follow him, but it’s just odd since I’m used to Nathalie doing business-y things.

Also, thanks to Nathalie’s skinnier body due to transforming (Watching her de-transform is so strange because it clearly doesn’t line up), it now looks like her head’s too large for her body, though that might just be me.

Duusu was a little more “hyper” than I expected, but I was technically correct with my “MC Duusu” I suppose, what with the “feels any emotion strongly” thing. Wasn’t really a prediction and just more of what I imagined but I’ll gladly take full credit–

I also suppose that the peacock is more obviously made not to be abused by someone evil if the sentimonster created just follows the orders of the person it touches. Makes it more convenient for someone who’s akumatized but is ultimately why Mayura can’t have a lot of solo appearances.

[Kwamfree]

So, the kwami swap and how it’s worked upon…

First, I gotta say that… like–

It’s baffling that we have to be reminded yet again that Chat almost caused Ladybug to mess up because, just in production order, we know that “Oblivio” will continue this trend. If this comes before “Oblivio” then it shows that Chat hasn’t learned anything from this. If it comes after “Oblivio” (hypothetically; I know what Thomas said about watching in production order), then the lead-in is completely pointless because we could’ve had this be a flashback episode rather than “Stormy Weather 2″ (and no, not an excessive one like “Stormy Weather 2″; I’m talkin’ brief flashbacks as in “here is actual legitimate evidence from previous episodes that show our claims).

Chat saying that Ladybug is a killjoy is rather uncalled for considering that they’re known in the fandom for their playful banter. Ladybug isn’t above puns either; she just takes her job more seriously than Chat does. I mean, the lack of balance (with the scales clearly tipped in Ladybug’s direction) does make for a more satisfying moment later when Ladybug can deal with Chat’s job just fine while he struggles with hers, but I think an extra minute or so would’ve gone a long way to creating a scenario in which the heroes would start discussing their roles in things.

It just feels odd after we’ve already seen “future” episodes like “Gamer 2.0″ where Chat carries along a very similar attitude of not understanding where Ladybug’s problems lie. It’s a good character flaw in theory but it doesn’t go anywhere.

Also, unrelated, but the whole intro could’ve been avoided entirely if “Reverser” had been the kwami swap episode (in which “Reverser” would literally switch their powers; something that Hawk Moth would put into Reverser’s powers to plan accordingly). That episode even mentioned Queen Wasp, which leads all the way back to “Syren” (since the “giving other people miraculouses” and “Chat gets let in on the Master Fu situation” plots are kind of tied together) in which Chat expressed distaste for how Ladybug was keeping him out of things.

We also get another instance of “don’t call me Bugaboo” here, which isn’t something related to Ladybug’s sense of humor at all, so I don’t know why Chat played it off as such.

It’s probably the scene where I’d say that Chat lays it on extra-thick with his ego and “you don’t have a sense of humor” (which I’d like to think is a callback to Adrien in “Frightningale” when he tells Marinette that Ladybug wouldn’t be as funny as her, but I’m not willing to stretch that far). It’s pretty typical Chat fare, but because it’s squeezed into such a short scene, it establishes things too quickly, hence things feeling “forced.”

Onto a positive note real quick though, I do like how it’s immediately noticeable how well the swapped heroes will fare upon transforming. Marinette adjusts her movements accordingly, making slashing/punching motions to show that she’s getting into the “destruction” mindset, whereas Adrien doesn’t change his style at all and does kicking motions despite the ladybug miraculous being a passive one. Makes sense too; Marinette is the versatile type whereas Adrien seems more like a one-trick kinda guy (which Marinette even points out upon calling him “simple;” it’s not really a bad thing, but just stating that Adrien isn’t as flexible as she is).

Now, despite how much I rag on Chat, I will admit that he’s really excessive in this episode, to the point where he doesn’t feel like himself. I already said that he lays on the ego, but even with the ladybug miraculous, he brags about his “mastery” of it after managing to get a mirror (i.e: what he wanted) using Lucky Charm. He also complains about how Marinette chose to make fun of him instead of helping him when helping him is exactly what she’s doing.

And like, I don’t have a high opinion of Adrien, but even I don’t think he’d doubt Ladybug when she tells him that Lucky Charm won’t give him what he wants. He’s talked about how Ladybug is so amazing and everything, but if that’s the case, it’s so strange when he completely ignores her advice and acts as if he’s better.

I mean, at the very least, I suppose it was nice when he finally admitted that he needed her help, acknowledged that using the ladybug miraculous wasn’t easy, and told her that he understood why she doesn’t have time to make jokes. I’m not even against the idea of them having their own roles, because sometimes a person just isn’t cut out for a certain miraculous.

And, in a vacuum, I don’t have a problem with the statement that “the heroes have their roles” because, I mean… as I’ve just stated, certain people fit certain miraculouses, but the issue is that it’s left too simple and doesn’t make sense within the context of the opening.

Giving Adrien the ladybug miraculous helps him feel the pressure that Marinette goes through, but that’s not helpful because it only shows him the mentality that has to go into a miraculous that he does not use. Ladybug was calling him out in the opening because his goofing off almost caused her lucky charm to fail, and what does he do?

He deflects and goes into a completely unrelated ramble about why he’s the humor of the team. Giving him the ladybug won’t fix that.

The episode tells him why Ladybug doesn’t have time for jokes since she’s thinking, but it doesn’t tell him why he shouldn’t be goofing off. Ladybug (as the cat) finds a balance between having fun (which does lead to her teasing him a lot and she’s sure to slip in advice occasionally to go with it) taking things seriously, but Adrien isn’t going to catch onto that.

Now, if the episode had somehow done some crazy fantasy magic and put Adrien in a situation where he had to deal with both being the ladybug and dealing with himself as his partner, then maybe that could’ve been different (also, Mister Bug and Chat Noir would be a horrifying combination, just sayin’).

Also, Chat needs to see that his actions have consequences. Ladybug’s always there to bail him out, and his screw-ups are either fixed by her or are things he doesn’t remember (*side-eyes “Oblivio”*).

If Ladybug is there, Chat won’t have a need to learn anything. Miraculous Ladybug fixes whatever in the end, so he has little worry about his actions. He’d need something bad–truly bad–to happen to shake him enough to get himself in gear.

Seeing the heroes swap was interesting. Seeing their civilian forms interacting with the opposite kwami was interesting. Seeing the difference in their de-transformed miraculouses was interesting.

But it just… doesn’t serve the story in a sense of character progression.

[Alya Out of Style]

Oh, Alya. I’ve talked about you so many times and now it’s time to do it again.

So, okay, it was bad enough in “The Puppeteer 2″ when Alya both forced Marientte to talk to Adrien and caused the villain of the day to happen, but now we have both of those things on top of Alya being even more insistent on the matter. This is also yet another time when Alya brings up Adrien and races off despite Marinette’s protests.

Alya tries to play it off as some sort of perfect opportunity when it isn’t, and I am so tired of Alya acting that way when there are clearly more important things to deal with.

In “The Puppeteer 2,” it was “I know Marinette is babysitting but Adrienette is more important!”

And here, it’s, “I know Marinette needs all her focus but Adrienette can happen, I’m sure it’ll be fiiiine!”

Also, Alya plays it off like Gabriel will never know about Adrien helping them, but Gorilla would know (since Gorilla has to pick him up), and let’s not forget “Origins” where Adrien begged Gorilla and Nathalie not to tell his father and Nathalie blabbed to Gabriel anyway. There’s no guarantee that Gorilla wouldn’t find a way to tell Gabriel, so Alya is ignoring both Adrien’s record with Gabriel and Marinette’s anxiety to make this work. This isn’t just about Marinette (even though it mostly is); it’s about Adrien too (just like “The Puppeteer 2″).

If this was just Marinette hanging out with her friends, that’d be one thing, but this is a situation that needs Marinette’s focus and Alya prioritizes getting “her ship” together instead. I literally cannot fathom how Alya sees Marinette trying to get all this together and go, “You know what would make this better? Let’s toss Adrien into the mix!”

Marinette even warns Alya that this isn’t going to work and Alya doesn’t listen. She has no concept of what the right time to do something is.

Also, not to be that guy, but Alya wants someone for the technical aspect of things and Adrien is just a model. It doesn’t make sense that Adrien would know what looks good because he’s not the one behind the camera. Nino at least was the one filming in “Horrificator” so maybe he’d have an idea of what a good shot would be, but he literally appears and then promptly disappears from the episode.

Also also, Marinette is trying to focus on the modeling stuff (you know, the stuff that’s IMPORTANT for her FUTURE WEBSITE) which Alya is ignoring entirely to make it about Marinette asking Adrien to the movies.

Like, “Animan” was a perfectly acceptable situation for Alya to help in; that was something where Marinette was just casually at the zoo and didn’t have to worry about messing anything up with.

Actually, furthering a point on “Animan” as well, it’s laughable at how wrong Alya was when she claimed that she “doesn’t go making decisions for other people” when that’s a vast majority of what she does to Marinette.

And obviously, Alya doesn’t know that Juleka wanted to be a model, but she stepped in when Marinette was trying to calm Juleka down. Anyone could see that Juleka was distressed and bordering on hyperventilation, but Alya fixated on Adrienette happening instead, even to the point of just snatching the hat off of Juleka’s head. It’d be one thing if Alya and Juleka weren’t close (like, if the girl squad still existed but it was more of Marinette having female friends and Alya having female friends and it’s a “friend of a friend” situation) but Juleka is in the girl squad.

Alya also continues to make everything worse by stressing the time that Adrien has to leave, so she’s making Marinette’s little event all about getting Marinette together with Adrien. Even if it had worked, that doesn’t make it okay for Alya to highjack all the operations.

And, I mean, this wouldn’t even be a problem if Alya just felt bad about it or even took responsibility, but she doesn’t feel a thing after Juleka is akumatized. When Marinette is the one to apologize, Alya doesn’t step in to be like, “I’m sorry too,” or, “it’s my fault for trying to make everything go how I wanted it to.”

Alya basically goes into the foreground only to force the entire situation and then drops into the background once she’s served her purpose. At that point, she’s less of a character and more of a plot device, which is never a good thing.

…That said, Alya isn’t the only poorly-handled one here.

[Reflekdull]

Juleka, not you too!

…Okay, I mean, being fair, it was nice to see that Juleka does have a goal in life with wanting to be a model despite her obvious anxiety on the matter. It was both surprising but also made sense for her character (and simultaneously makes “Reflekta” more tragic because of her photo curse).

I also think it’s great how perceptive Marinette was on it since–y’know–it’s Marinette, it’s natural that she’d be perceptive to anxiety.

…Unfortunately though, that brings things to the fact of Juleka being mad at Marinette.

Because why, what, and how.

Like, I am so sick of characters/episodes turning against Marinette for things she either didn’t mean to do or literally did not do.

Marinette was helping Juleka. She was asking Juleka what she wanted to do and only started suggesting that she should handle things when Juleka was not giving her an answer.

Marinette checked on Juleka multiple times yet, when Juleka finally gets akumatized, it’s Marinette that Juleka goes after, and then they have Marinette claim that Juleka said that she didn’t want to model just to make Marinette look to be in the wrong.

Reflekta argues, “You didn’t let me explain!” but no, that was Alya who cut in. Alya was the one who started going on and on about Marinette and Adrien being the models. Marinette was taking responsibility and checking on Juleka (again, twice) to see if she was okay.

I’m not even mad that Marinette apologized, because it is in-character for her to do so. No, I’m mad at the episode for failing in everything else completely. Everything about the lead-up, the process, and the aftermath of the akuma is wrong.

And it’s not just Marinette either. Rose is also very attentive towards Juleka, but Juleka insists that she’s fine to both Marinette and Rose, only to then target them directly once she’s akumatized.

This is exactly like the original “Reflekta,” where Reflekta shot Rose without any focus or thought on the matter. I hate to complain about it here because it’s not a fault exclusive to this episode but, like–

I get that being akumatized means taking away a lot of the original traits of the person being akumatized, but they should still have something. Akuma like Rogercop still had attachments even when said attachment had nothing to do with their akumatization, so I don’t understand the logic that someone who’s akumatized just becomes a completely different person. It’s boring and makes the akumatized person less like “a person we feel for and are attached to” and more like “a generic villain-of-the-day.” Reflekta is flashy and confident, unlike Juleka, which is totally fine, but if she has no hints of who Juleka was, I find it too hard to get invested when she’s rampaging around Paris.

I dunno. It’s just weird knowing that Reflekta is the worst example of this while her brother is one of the best.

And on Reflekta herself as the villain-of-the-day here, I’m not sure how I feel about her coming back as a repeat akuma. I mean, Stormy Weather and Gamer 2.0 made sense given their build-up, but Reflekta feels like too much of a stretch here. I don’t even have a problem with repeat akuma in concept, but the situation that Juleka goes through doesn’t correlate to Reflekta’s idea of “I want to be seen by everyone.” Like, yes, Juleka wants to be a model, but the lead-in to the akumatization is the main problem; Hawk Moth’s lines fixate on Juleka wanting to be seen when the problem was that she didn’t have the confidence to model Marinette’s outfits.

Also, if Juleka wants to model, making everyone look like her is literally the opposite of what she should want to do. Luka’s whole line about her being pretty and Juleka’s want to model clothing only hold up if she’s actually modeling clothing as herself.

I know it wouldn’t be a kwami swap episode if I did this, but if Reflekta’s goal is to make people understand how she feels, then her powers should center around giving people crippling anxiety, like what she had when she was trying to model for Marinette. I already suggested the same for my version of Reverser, and I still add that it’d be hilarious for her powers to not affect Marinette/Ladybug because she’s already an anxious mess normally so she’s used to it (plus, then Reflekta would’ve seen that Marinette is just like her and, if the episode still went with Reflekta being mad at her, that would’ve made her realize that she was wrong, even if Juleka herself would have to be corrected later). This also would’ve had the same effect that the original episode has on Chat where he realizes how Ladybug feels on a daily basis.

Heck, this episode even fails to point out that this is on Juleka as well. I’m not criticizing Juleka for having anxiety to the point of not speaking, but getting mad at Marinette was completely out of nowhere. 

Right before Juleka is akumatized, Juleka blames herself for the situation, which isn’t entirely wrong. I’m glad that she made an attempt to put herself out there, but throwing blame onto Marinette was uncalled for. I would’ve happily excused Reflekta being mad at Marinette and Rose if Reflekta was just deflecting (heh) the self-loathing onto others to compensate, but she also would have had to:

a - be mad at Adrien too because Adrien is ALSO “stealing” her spot as a model (and, suddenly, I’m reminded of “Gamer”) and also get angry at Alya for the hat snatching

b - not be huffy at Marinette after being de-akumatized; if she is, it’s only deflection and she immediately feels bad once Marinette apologizes and then Juleka assures Marinette that’s it’s not her fault

This is the problem when there are four writers writing one episode. Regardless of how much it “helps continuity,” too many ideas are being thrown in and it turns the episode into a mess that feels like it was written by writers who all wrote different scenes but then didn’t consult each other enough on what happened in those scenes, so one writer will go in with a vague idea of, “oh, Marinette took Juleka’s spot in modeling so this must be Marinette’s fault; I’ll have Juleka be mad at her for that and then have Marinette apologize!”

Just… ugh. Some of the interactions are wonderful and the swapped heroes are interesting, but I don’t know if it’s worth it for the rest of the plot.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

(1/2) All evidence points to Rakepick being a double agent? Oh yeah, especially the part when she tortured a 16 year old and abandoned a bunch of teenagers right?? People can talk about the “Rowan isn’t dead” theory all they want (not that I’d agree but I’d respect their opinion) but there’s no way I’m gonna take her doing either of them “just for show”. And anyways, even if she WAS a double agent, she’s still far from being a good person. I mean, this is the woman who tested a deadly spell

I don’t believe she’s a good person. That ship has emphatically sailed (and it was never really in the harbor, to be honest.) Though I do think she’s a person of far higher morals than she’s presenting herself as. But since you asked, let’s look at the evidence: 

Year 5

Why does Rakepick deny saving MC and Jacob’s lives when MC confronts her? She insists that the journal is a forgery, but all it does is provide more evidence that MC should trust her. If MC really did find a journal from a time when Jacob trusted Rakepick...it makes no sense for her to not capitalize on that opportunity. Even if it was a forgery...why tell them that?

Before going into the Portrait Vault, Rakepick warns MC that they will need to take the lead when she’s gone, and that Merula isn’t ready, so be sure to take care of her. Rakepick had to know by that point what would happen, she had to have had a plan. Why even say that if she’s just planning to kill MC and the others? What was the purpose of that conversation?

In the Portrait Vault, she tells MC that she always wanted to make her way back to Hogwarts, to find them and start her plan over. So why was Dumbledore looking for her for years, if he wanted her there too? What was she doing in Castelobruxo? It should have been easy for her to come back. Rakepick is lying.

A little thing, but why does she make a point of telling MC that, given the choice, she would have left Jacob to rot? Why even say that? First of all, I doubt that’s true even if she is evil, because tactically speaking, she still needed him. She needed a Legilimens, right? It sounds like the kind of thing a person says when they’re trying to put on a show of being evil. (Side-note, and totally speculative here...if the Rotfang Theory is true, then, “leaving him to rot” might very well have been a subtle hint to MC. Just something to ponder.)

Rakepick announces that she’s going to kill MC and the others, as they’ve outlived their usefulness...and then she proceeds to waste time, torturing Merula, instead. Complete with more dialogue that is needlessly cruel, about how Merula is no one’s favorite. Rakepick has never been nice, but she wasn’t this sadistic. It was extremely over-dramatic, and remember, this was after asking MC to look out for Merula. Rakepick basically gives MC an opening to strike back, which they do. 

Why does she name-drop R, in a cliche “You’ll get yours!” style line? Again, why even say that? MC doesn’t need to know that she works for the Cabal. The less they know, the better, right? R’s whole gimmick is being a secret organization. But Rakepick hints that it’s a “we” and not just one person.

How did Jacob know she was evil? Seriously. According to her story, Rakepick and Jacob were working together to open the Portrait Vault, which means he still trusted her up to that point. Then, the moment he touched the Portrait, he was sealed inside, and Rakepick was transported out. So how would Jacob have any way of knowing the truth about her? This only makes sense if Rakepick is lying.  

Year 6

In Chapter 18, she saves MC and the others from all the Dementors. Complete with a Patronus that symbolizes motherly protection, and her entire entrance being coded as heroic. Sure, she says it’s because she wants to kill MC herself...but then she doesn’t do that. 

Rakepick also claims that Merula “isn’t worth killing” which doesn’t make sense, because apparently Ben is? If the orders from the Cabal are to kill one of MC’s friends, then why does it matter who? And it’s not as simple as saying “Well, MC and Merula aren’t really friends” because Rakepick wasn’t there in Years 1-3. From her point of view, working with them all through Year 5 when they were getting along well, why would she not see them as friends? Not to mention, she told MC to watch out for Merula. This only makes sense if she does care about Merula, to a degree. 

Maybe the “Rowan is alive” theory is true, maybe it’s not. Either way, I can’t help but notice that Rakepick straight up warned Ben that she was going to fire a killing curse. “Take this lesson to your grave!” is a pretty clear announcement of what she was going to do next, and maybe she was intending for Ben to dodge it. Or maybe that was the signal for Rowan or whoever that was, to come out of hiding.

Once Rowan is dead, Rakepick is a perfect position to kill MC, as she openly stated that she wants to do. MC is defeated on the ground, in shock and despondent over Rowan. But instead of killing them, she once again lets them live, taunting them and disapparating. 

On another note, ever notice how Rakepick can apparate in and out of Hogwarts grounds? Like, in the Vaults and in the Forest? The only way she would be able to do that is if Dumbledore was lifting the Anti-Disapparation Jinx for her, which would only make sense if she was still on his payroll. 

Going back to MC and the Cabal for a moment. If the orders are to kill one of MC’s friends...then does R want MC dead or not? If they do, why bother killing one of their friends? If they don’t, why does Rakepick keep insisting that she wants to kill MC? What’s with the blood-lust toward them anyway? Aren’t they just a loose end? Rakepick. Is. Lying.

And why lie, at this point? To what end? If she’s revealed herself as a villain and openly opposes the heroes, what is there left to lie about? The only way the holes in her story make sense is if she’s a double agent. Because otherwise, she’s been depicted as far too intelligent to make these kinds of rookie mistakes.

[averagesmw]

Penny Haywood x MC (1)-Drunken Mess

Game: Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery

Things to note: The reader is a Ravenclaw, Rowan is a chick in this

____________________

Drunken mess

The holidays, a joyful season where no room for evil, sadness or even anger existed. A time to spend with those you love and bond with them

...The thing is, I'm not exactly in good terms with my parents, mainly due to what happened to Jacob, my brother

His disappearance left them not sad or angry, but disappointed, and everything I do is often met with criticism

Bloody hell, I would almost say that I like Snape more than those two, almost

So yes, I chose not to go back home and instead, remain here, in Hogwarts warm embrace. Fortunately for me, I'm not alone

Penny Haywood, my friend, and perhaps crush and the school's popular girl also chose to stay behind, probably because of her studies, I honestly didn't ask. She didn't seem to be up for a talk

So what I did instead was to take her to Hogsmeade, to chat and relax in the smoky, but welcoming pub my friends and I enjoy so much, The Three Broomsticks

After a few rounds of Butterbeer and cherry syrup, my blonde friend seemed to be feeling much better than before

Currently, we were walking our way back to Hogwarts before the curfew was in effect

"You're talking your time with the snow, Penny"

I pointed out joking while I glanced back at her, seeing as her steps had no need to be fast at all, despite us being out at what could very well be the night itself

"It's not like we get snow around here every day, you know?"

Her gentle, warm voice provided me a justification that made me chuckle. She was right though, sometimes taking the time to appreciate things like that helped quite a bit

"Indeed, especially when it's not trying to kill us"

I tried to add a little something. We had not only discovered a cursed vault, but we stopped it together before our second year ended

Then she looked at me, with a sympathetic smile on her face

"That was ice, Y/N"

...Of course I know the difference, I was just testing her...yeah, that's it

'Tomato, tomatoe"

While I answered with the same joking tone, my words did earn a playful smile from Penny as well as one of the cutest giggled my ears had ever heard

"Someone had a tad too much butterbeer"

I couldn't even deny that, so we both ended up sharing a laugh at this. Once it gently died down, Penny's eyes widened slightly, I knew that look

She had an idea, and judging by the smile that accompanied it, it was mischievous

"Hey Y/N? What do you say to a snowball fight?"

Her idea took me by surprise. Not that it was bad, but I just hadn't thought of it before

"Right now?"

She nodded eagerly, already preparing a snowball herself

"Or is the Ravenclaw too afraid to fight?"

Her attempt to imitate Merula's usual taunts made me laugh so hard, I couldn't take Penny seriously at all. I swear, she always knows how to make me smile

"Alright, then, why don't we add a little punishment for the loser?" I suggested to spice things up, we were competitive enough as it was

"Yes! The loser gets to carry the winner all the way to Hogwarts"

That also surprised me. That punishment wasn't thought for her, not at all

So that tells me, Penny was going all out on this one. I soon found myself grinning at the idea, not backing down myself

"My, someone's confident"

This time I didn't get an answer, just her winking at me

Needless to say, slightly drunk Penny is not what I'm used to, but it could actually turn out to be really fun

And besides, we were already in a snowy place so...

"Alright, we'll fight. I'll even let you shoot fi-AGHH!"

I failed to finish the sentence as I felt a chilling sphere of ice hitting my face. It hurt, but not nearly as much as an intentional Flipendo would

"So that is how it is going to be" I pretended anger, but I was obviously playing around, joining the spirit of the game

I quickly got the snow off my face and looked around for the blonde only to see her already throwing another snowball at me. I managed to duck just in time and without even thinking, I put my hands on the snow to form my own projectile

When I went back up to take aim, I was hit yet again, this time in the chest. She was good

"You're falling behind, Y/N!" She taunted, proud she hit me yet again

"Just you wait"

And with that, I threw the snowball and she barely managed to dodge it. I took the time to make another one and threw it the same way, only for Penny to do exactly the same and who would've guessed? Our projectiles hit each other

We were impressed by this, but that was soon replaced with a burning desire to win

I managed to hit Penny in the stomach, quite carefully as to not actually hurt her, but hearing her yelp proved to be just so satisfactory I ended up laughing

"I got you this time, Haywood!"

I only called her by her surname when we were competing, like right now. She was surprised at first but being as adaptive as she was, Penny just laughed it off and grew a smirk as she prepared not one, but two snowballs

"Oh, you're going to get it now, blue!"

She also had a nickname for me, this one referring to the color of the house I was sorted in

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by another snowball to the face, throwing me off balance and surely making me drop my own snowball to recover

However, before I could even try, another pair were thrown to my chest and made me trip shortly after

The only thing I heard was laughter, from both her and me. I couldn't even be mad at her for going full commando on me

By the time I got rid of the snow, I was met with Penny already there, looking down at me, holding a snowball in her hands, grinning

"Guess I win, then"

"You wish-"

Again, interrupted by snowball hitting me, although this one was much softer than the others... mainly because she just dropped it on my chest from quite a short distance

"Alright alright, I'm wise enough to recognize my defeat"

I quickly swept the snow again and got back on my feet. It wasn't all that fun to lose, but compared to the duel itself, breathtaking would be the right word to describe it

"We should do this again some other time"

She nodded, finding herself too lost for words but regaining her breath just like me, we had indeed, given it our all to this duel

That's when we noticed how dark it had gotten, the stars decorated the sky without failure, the wind also explained to us just how much time had we spent outside the castle

"We should head back inside, don't want you to lose points because of me"

Penny was about to answer that when she realized that while I too lost a few points, I had practically figured out a way to gain them back, so prioritizing her came as no surprise to us

"Indeed...wait, you lost" Her attitude changed back to her playful self upon remembering our words before the snowball fight

"So?...oh, damnit"

And that's when I too, remembered what had I agreed to. My pride would be my own worst enemy sometimes

"Fine, a deal is a deal, and I'm a man of my word"

Penny had no time to react to my comment as I held her gently and actually managed to lift her. I was getting ready to give her a piggyback ride back home

She yelped, not expecting my actions on the slightest and honestly I wasn't either, guess I did drink more than enough butterbeer

"Y-Y/N! What are you doing!?" She was still surprised, but there was no hint of her disliking it, so I proceeded

"Doing my part, now hold tight"

Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around my neck to secure herself, laughing nervously at this

"You know you don't actually have to do this, right?"

"I know, but I want to"

I stated without giving much thought into it, the way I said it took Penny back, I swear if we had more lightning I could've seen her blush

Or maybe it was my imagination, who knows. Either way, we parted back to our school and provisional home

It took her a couple of minutes, but the blonde Hufflepuff eventually got used to the idea of me giving her a ride back home without her blushing so much

Turns out Penny was surprisingly light, so I was able to take her back to the castle. She would sometimes tighten her grip on me without knowing it

Hell, we even had a normal conversation, ignoring the awkward situation I had put is in. I mean, Imagine seeing two students arriving fashionably late to their school, with one of them giving a piggyback ride to the other

Yes, not the usual Hogwarts kind of odd

...But it hardly mattered

It was one of the things one does without pondering it for hours, no, this came not from the mind, but maybe, from the heart itself

Soon enough we made it to Hogwarts, sneaking our way into the Entrance Hall, then walked up the stairs together as she asked me to put her down

When we reached the top, light snuck in, giving us a clear view of each other under the filtered moonlight

Normally, this place would still have quite a few students, but at this time, that was hardly the case, so we were effectively alone together

"I hadn't had that much fun in a long time"

She said to me with eyes heard to decipher. Was it gratitude? sadness? What could be hiding behind them?

I don't know, but it a became so clear the moment she embraced me, resting her forehead on my surprised shoulder

"Thank you, Y/N. For being there for me"

She muttered, a voice so soft it felt like it was going to break and yet, her words were so strong, so meaningful

The least I could do was hug her back, tenderly whispering in her ear

"I'll always be there for you, Penny. Always"

Did...did I seriously just said that? My mind had long lost control, it could only be guessed that my heart was pulling the strings, as those words would normally take me so long to say, let alone process

Just as fear was about to strike, Penny swiftly removed it by tightening her embrace. I could feel she was taking off a great weight from her shoulders, so I allowed her to continue

Not that I opposed a hug from her anyway, it was Penny Haywood, after all

After a couple of seconds, she let go of me just enough to let me see her face. Her bright eyes stealing all the attention and keeping it to themselves, her smile showing genuine happiness, so warm

I swear, I could look at her all day and never get tired of it

Penny chuckled and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before separating herself from me

"See you tomorrow, Y/N. Have a wonderful sleep"

She said in her usual warm, kind way as she gave me one final smile and parted ways with me

Of course, I could hardly believe what had just happened. It was a quick peck, but it was hers. If that wasn't the best I had experienced in the whole month, I don't know what was

As the night kept going, so had I and with much stealth as possible, I went to my tower, particularly trying to enter Ravenclaw's dormitory so I could get some well-deserved rest

I had to go up a few stairs and avoid that demon cat, Ms. Norris that always patrols the halls searching for trouble like if it were mice

Somehow, I pulled it off and found myself back on my bed, staring at the ground and when I realized, I had my hand on my check, the same place where I got a kiss

This day started off stormy, just to end on a high note. It's a lot to take in, but one thing is for certain

This day would go down my history as one of the most memorable, one way or another

[unfortunately-lovestruck]

No More Time

I wrote this when Antonio only had one season out, so keep that in mind in terms of timeline. This is angst. It is sad. This is what y’all wanted. Have fun :)

“So, do you guys like, prefer one blood type over the other?” MC asked.

“We tend to, yes,” Antonio answered, eyes on the road, “Preference is dependent on the individual’s tastes.”

“So, what would you say is the most popular blood type then?”

“Probably O-,” he shrugged, “It’s rare, and O just has a richer flavor.”

“Richer?”

“Yes.”

“Like cake from a fancy restaurant as opposed to cake from a Walmart?” she compared.

“Are you referring to the quality or price?” his brows furrowed.

“Yes.”

He snorted, a small smile of amusement on his lips.

“Sooooo,” she raised her brows, implying something.

“So?” he asked.

“Come on, you know,” she smiled.

“MC, I can’t answer something without knowing the question.”

“Is my blood Walmart or Gucci?” she blurted.

“It’s…” he paused thoughtfully, “It’s more….. Louis Vuitton, Givenchy?” he answered uncertainty.

“Well those both sounded foreign and expensive, so I’ll take that as a compliment,” MC blinked.

He laughed before explaining, “Regardless, in the end we’ll take what’s there. It leaves too much of a pattern if you target a particular blood type all the time.”

“Makes sense,” MC admitted.

Outside the sleek white sports car, the faint lights of Havenfall began appearing on the dark horizon. If it weren’t for the fact that Antonio still lived there and she had Havenfall’s Finest to accompany her, MC would have left with him months ago. He’d already taken her to LA, and had offered a quick tour around Europe’s basics like Paris and Venice. She’d declined, figuring they should save it for a time where they could afford to stay longer and enjoy it more.

Now, they were coming back from a restaurant that was out of town, where MC had tried out some new cuisine and actually had the chance to have some real conversations with Antonio. On her phone were several texts from the group chat, mainly JD joking about how they might end up finding a dead body soon tonight.

From the responding threats to block a contact, MC figured Razi and Mac didn’t really take it too well.

She yawned as she texted back reassurance of her safety. Antonio was taking her home, and nothing else was happening (despite what JD was insinuating).

“They’re still worried, I assume?” he guessed.

“Give them some time,” she sighed.

“Oh no, I understand,” he acknowledged, not at all bitter, “They have pretty much no reason to trust me. That’s just how it is.”

“At least you’re aware,” she commended.

“Trust me, I am,” he assured, “Besides—“

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by shattered glass and the brakes screeching. MC cursed rather violently as she felt the sting of several cuts on various parts of her body.

“GET DOWN!” he warned, yanking her arm before her skull was crushed with a something.

“Not again!” she groaned, “When will this random-attack-in-the-middle-of-the-night bullshit end?!”

“Show yourself!” Antonio ignored her and challenged the assailant.

“If you say so, bloodsucker,” a female voice answered.

Antonio paled, straight up blanched before whispering, “You.”

“Miss me?” a pale girl dressed in all black answered, sauntering relaxedly in front of the car with a whip in one hand and a gun in the other.

“You just never give up, do you?” he seethed, beyond irritated.

“Where would be the fun in that?” she asked, her easy smirk dropping before her voice dropped, low and threatening, “Now hand the girl over.”

“She’s with me by will,” he informed, tight-lipped, “Contrary to popular belief.”

“Being under the influence of mind control conflicts with that,” she narrowed her eyes, “Now, give her to me.”

“He’s not mind controlling me,” MC spoke up.

The woman shook her head in disapproval, “Of course you trained her to deny any allegations. You’re sick, all of you.”

“Don’t bother,” he told MC, “There’s no other reason anyone would be around vampires to her.”

“Because in the end, all they use humans for is satisfying their appetites,” the huntress raised her gun, pointing it directly to Antonio’s forehead, “Now, don’t make me say the same thing three times.”

Antonio was stone-still, silent as fog.

Then, he wisped away into nothing, a hole in the car seat burning where a bullet was fired.

MC had no idea where he planned to reappear in the night, but was surprised to find his form coalescing behind the huntress after such a direct attack. Faster than light, she turned, cracking her whip at him. His eyes were glowing, sharp canines jutting out his mouth.

“You damn hunters,” he growled, “Persistent bastards, I’ll give you that.”

“We only protect the innocent,” she seethed, graceful features absolutely murderous, “You’re the one exploiting a young woman in the middle of the night.”

“We went to eat Thai food,” he told the truth, rolling his eyes like all of this was bullshit, “Do I need to show you the bill, pictures of the food? Or will you try to stake my phone as well?”

“Hand. The girl. Over,” she repeated, arms tensed to raise her weapons.

“She’s not influenced,” he repeated too.

“That’s it!” she declared, firing another bullet at him.

By a hair’s breadth, he avoided its mark, warping away behind her once again and throwing her harshly against a tree. She rolled up with what had to be years of practice, getting up again after impact with that same fury in her eyes. Antonio didn’t seem surprised at her durability, only dodging again as she fired even more bullets.

MC picked up her phone, eyes never leaving the fight. She lowered the brightness to keep conspicuous and sent several quick texts.

Help.

Huntress, whip, Antonio’s fighting her.

Outside of town, come quickly.

Then, she screamed as the front of the car was crushed in, the woman’s body having been thrown onto it violently.

Quickly, MC scanned for Antonio, jumping as he appeared beside the door and began pulling her out of the car.

“Hurry, go,” he told her, “I don’t sense any more of them. Hide somewhere, anywhere, I’ll find you.”

“All right, I texted the others,” she explained, breaths short and shallow, “They should be here soon.”

“Got it, and whatever you do,” he gripped her shoulder, “Don’t let her take you anywhere. She’ll keep you with her and interrogate you. So go, run.”

MC nodded, sprinting away from the fight before Antonio dodged another crack from the whip. She knew what she could fight against and what she couldn’t, and this was the latter.

“Don’t you dare!” the woman shouted, running after her.

The vampire manifested in front of her before she could get close to MC, who was far slower than either of them even at her most panicked speed.

“She stays out of this,” he declared, “This is personal.”

“Get out of my way,” she ordered.

“Over my dead body and my dead body only,” he threatened.

“That can be arranged,” she bit back with absolutely no humor.

“Alright ladies,” an authoritative voice broke their rhythm, “Enough is enough.”

MC stopped as she heard Mac’s heavy footsteps approach them. A faint glow surrounded Razi in his djinn form, lighting the area where everyone had gathered. JD’s massive wings accompanied that glow, their eyes diluted with hellish gold.

Mac’s voice was almost a growl as she spoke again, “This is not your territory.”

“All territory is Helsing territory as long as there are vampires,” she countered, “Unless you permit homicidal, undead monsters in your territory.”

“We wouldn’t be defending him if he didn’t deserve it,” the sheriff said.

“Then why does he have that woman hypnotized?” she asked pointedly.

“She’s not under hypnosis,” JD cut in, “Trust me, we’ve exhausted that possibility a long time ago. She’s with him willingly.”

“Oh God,” her features twisted with disgust.

“The feeling’s mutual,” Razi acknowledged.

“What’s your name anyway?” Mac asked, “It would be helpful for negotiation.”

“Vanessa Helsing,” she answered.

“All right, Vanessa,” the werewolf started, “We appreciate your concern for civilians’ safety, but it is not needed at the moment. If you drop this now, all matters will be left in peace.”

“I have a mission, this is not something I am able to walk away from,” she argued.

“Then it seems we do have a problem,” Mac warned, “There’s four of us and one of you, Ms. Helsing. I wouldn’t test your chances.”

“You’re seriously siding with him?!” she gestured furiously to Antonio, who’s lips drew back in distaste.

“Listen, even if you gathered evidence of his guilt and had a solid alibi, the local courthouse won’t take Helsing vs. Vasquez because supernatural court cases are not a thing,” Mac explained, “Now drop it, because they will look into property damage and disturbing the peace.”

Vanessa’s red lips thinned, a very reluctant, “Fine,” escaping her mouth.

“Now, hand over your weapons,” Mac held her hand out, “Just until Mr. Vasquez gets in his car and leaves.”

Working her jaw, Vanessa approached the sheriff, giving her the whip and gun stiffly and coldly.

“Your others too,” Mac said, “All of them.”

MC started to relax more and more as she became less and less armed. She couldn’t name any of the weapons, but pretty soon Razi and JD had to pitch in to collect all of them. She stepped out of the cover of the trees, approaching the scene hesitantly as the last of Vanessa’s things were handed over.

Antonio saw her and signaled her over, eyes dimming little by little. He seemed to finally relax just before a sharp piece of wood poked out of his chest and he froze.

Mackenzie growled in outrage, dropping the other weapons and pouncing at Vanessa. The huntress had a gun that that fired stakes in her hand, which she dropped as well to dodge the sheriff. She was almost hit with a roaring ball of fire and shimmering strike of magic before scarcely missing them.

Before any more attacks could be made though, she threw something at the ground, smoke exploding everywhere and blinding everyone.

Then she was gone.

Antonio, however, was on the ground already, eyes wide as blood trailed out of the sides of his mouth and he took shallow breaths.

She wanted to yell out his name, but all she could do was mouth it. MC couldn’t remember running over to him, only that she was kneeling next to his body, hands shaking as she placed his head on her lap and watched the blood pool through his white shirt.

It had been stabbed directly through the heart.

Vaguely, MC remembered him informing her of how fresh human blood could heal a vampire if injured, and she rolled up her sleeve, a deep cut still bleeding on her forearm.

“Come on, Antonio,” she whispered, dipping her arm down to his mouth.

“MC,” he tried to speak, voice choked and croaking.

“Drink it,” she demanded, “Now’s not the time to be self-conscious about drinking, come on.”

He still seemed to have protests, but she forced the blood into his mouth, feeling his lips close over it to drink. He gulped it down, too weak to even suck from the wound.

Once his arms were finally strong enough to work again though, he forced her arm away from his mouth, breaths still short and quick. She protested, but he shook his head, coughing slightly afterwards.

“You just slowed it down,” he wheezed out,” All you did was make the process last longer.”

“No, no,” she shook her head, “Antonio, if you keep drinking, we can get it out—“

“MC, it doesn’t matter if I’m drinking blood, as soon as this stake is removed, I die,” he coughed, thick brows strained together.

“Antonio come on there has to be something,” MC insisted, her throat closing as she refrained from crying, “We can call Diego, ask him what to do.”

“He will tell you the same thing,” he shook his head, “I’ve seen it myself. At this point, there is no salvation.”

“You can’t—” MC started, forgetting that the others were there as well, “You can’t just die!”

“I’ve already pushed my luck for five centuries,” he shook his head, “It was only a matter of time, MC.”

“Antonio, please, you can’t just—” she attempted to speak, the last few words ending in sobs, “You can’t just die. Please, not you too.”

She was pathetic, tears rolling down her cheeks as the blood reached the sleeves of his shirt. A gentle, warm sort of understanding filled his features as he watched, even if there were tight lines all over his face as a result of pain.

“Hello?” a voice on someone’s phone asked, “Razi?”

MC’s head shot up in recognition at the voice.

“Diego, there’s been an attack,” Razi spoke into the phone.

“Oh, God, what happened?”

“It’s…” he trailed off, “It’s Antonio.”

“Is he all right?”

“No.”

“...What happened?”

Even MC, who could only faintly hear the doctor and Razi, noticed the slight panic in his voice.

“He was staked,” Razi explained.

Silence.

“Is… is he not dead yet?”

Utter terror in that one sentence.

“No. MC let him have some blood, but…. It was through the heart.”

“Through the heart?” the doctor asked, “I… Razi, there’s nothing I can do. If it had been anywhere else, blood would have been enough.”

“MC,” Antonio spoke suddenly, hand dipping into his jacket pocket, “MC, here.”

He took out his wallet and car keys, taking her other hand and putting them into her palm.

“Antonio, no—no, I don’t want these,” she shook her head, refusing them.

“Take them,” he closed his hands over hers, not letting her give them back, “I need you to have them with you. There’s a safe in my apartment with cash for emergencies. Victor will know where. Let him know it was Van Helsing, and that he’s not safe here anymore.”

“Antonio—“

“If anyone who doesn’t know the truth asks, it was a car accident,” he insisted, “If the police keep interrogating you—“

“Antonio—“

“If they keep interrogating you,” he persisted, determined to finish his sentence, “I have a lawyer who knows everything. You won’t be legally obligated to answer any questions. Victor will know who that is too.”

“Antonio, stop acting like this is hopeless—“

“It is hopeless!” he told her before coughing raggedly, “You heard Diego, there’s nothing anyone can do!”

“Razi, please, is there any magic you have that can fix this?” she asked, hiccuping with sobs as she turned to him.

“MC!” Antonio coughed, gripping her cheek and redirecting her to face him, “Look at me, look at me.”

She did, tears blurring her vision as she her chest shuddered.

“You’ll be fine, all right? You’ll be okay,” he reassured, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, “Don’t stay here. I know how much you want to leave, so don’t waste your life here. Grace will—“

He coughed again, blood pouring out his lips.

“She’ll graduate in Barcelona,” he reassured, swallowing tightly, “You don’t have to worry about her. Go to college like you wanted to. Anywhere, just go.”

“Antonio, now isn’t the time for this!” she insisted.

“There is no time left!” he told her, features strained with anger, “Don’t hang on to me, don’t mourn me forever. Don’t make the same mistake I made.”

“Razi, is that him still talking?” Diego’s voice asked, small and faint.

“Yes,” Razi nodded solemnly.

“Can…. can I talk to him?” Diego asked.

Antonio nodded before Razi could answer, the djinn bending down and holding the phone near him so he could speak to him.

“Antonio?”

“Yes, I’m here,” he choked out.

“Antonio, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have left—“

“No, I’m sorry,” he cut Diego off, “I’m sorry for what I did to you, for what I became. I’m sorry I spent all these years hating you when I could’ve spent them with you as my friend.”

The others can’t decide whether to be shocked, heartbroken, or both.

Antonio was crying.

“Antonio, don’t start regretting things like this, not when—“ Diego sounded like he was crying as well, “Not when you’re about to—“

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

“I’ll regret everything regardless,” Antonio shook his head, looking weaker and weaker with every word, “Diego, lo siento. Perdóname, por favor.”

“Te perdono,” Diego said immediately, voice tight and miserable, “Te perdono, Antonio.”

“Estoy asustado,” he seemed to be confessing something, choking on more tears, “Estoy muy asustado.”

“No tengas miedo,” Diego said in a reassuring voice, “Dios guarda tu alma.”

Whatever he’d just said, Antonio didn’t look very convinced of it.

“Adiós, mi hermano,” he said then, utter heartbreak in every word.

“Adiós.”

MC only somewhat heard Diego ask Razi in English to stay on the phone, in case something happened.

Yet from the dull, empty look in Antonio’s red eyes, she could tell nothing would.

“Evita…” he said then, “Evita, I’m so sorry.”

MC knew that was his sister somehow, knew without him ever telling her. He talked about her the same way she felt about Grace.

“I want to see her again,” he confessed, to whom, MC wasn’t sure, “I miss her so much.”

“You will,” she promised him, speaking past tears, “I know you will.”

Antonio only shook his head, “I won’t. She… she belongs in Heaven. I don’t.”

“Antonio, that’s not true—“

“It is,” he interrupted, thoroughly convinced, “You know it, and I know it. Wherever I end up, it won’t be paradise.”

It hurt the others to watch MC start sobbing. However, they didn’t leave, only stayed behind her, knowing what was to come.

“Listen to me,” he said, obviously with great effort, “Don’t get involved with vampires anymore. Don’t. They will tear you to pieces and they’ll hurt you, just like I tried to.”

MC nodded, knowing there was no more arguing with him.

“Stay with the others. If someone comes after you, if Igor returns, go find Diego. He’ll help you,” he promised.

She opened her mouth to speak, but only sobs came out, barely able to even see his face in the dark anymore through her tears.

“Shh,” he wiped at her cheeks, taking her hand in his free one, “Hey, you’ll be alright, I promise. Remember what I told you. After this, go do the things you couldn’t do. Have what I never got to give you, MC.”

He was paling already, skin ashen and grayed. Raising her hand, he kissed the back of it gently, seeming as though that simple action took immense concentration to accomplish.

“I love you,” he told her, red eyes unfocused as he smiled sadly, “You needed to hear that at least once. I do love you.”

MC’s heart twisted, more tears gushing out of her eyes. The blood had spread from the stake in his heart all the way to sleeves now.

“Thank you, MC,” he told her, knowing he was out of time, “For everything. Thank you.”

And that’s when his heart stopped beating.

The others expected wails of grief, but all they got was frozen silence. Her trembling hand squeezed his lifeless one, which he never squeezed back.

And then, he dissolved into ash, the wind carrying him away into eternal silence.